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LIVES OF THE 



PRESIDENTS. 



TOLD IN WORDS OF ONE SYLLABLE. 



By jean S. REMY. 



WITH ILLUSTRATIONS, 



Is'EW YORK: 

A. L. BURT, PUBLISHER. 



24376 



66209 

Copyright, 1900, by A. L. Burt. 



LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. 
By Jean S. Remy. 



[Litarttry or ConrjreeG 

two Copies Received 
JUL ^4 1900 

Copyright entry 

SECOND COPY. 

Delivered to 

ORDER DWiSlON, 



CONTENTS. 



George Washii^gtok ^ 

JOHI^ ADAks 1^ 

Thomas Jefferson" ^^ 

James Madison ^^ 

James Monroe ^^ 

John Quin'cy Adams ■ ^^ 

Andrew Jackson ^^ 

Marti]^ Van Buren" ^^ 

William Henry Harrison 45 

John Tyler 4*^ 

James Knox Polk 4£ 

Zachary Taylor ^^ 

Millard Fillmore 5^ 

Franklin Pierce - 5( 

James Buchanan ^^ 

Abraham Lincoln. ... ^^ 

Andrew Johnson ^^ 

Ulysses Simpson Grant C^ 

Eutherford B. Hayes < ^ 

James Abram Garfield '^' 

Chester Alan" Arthur '^^ 

Stephen" Grover Cleveland 8( 

Benjamin Harrisont ^' 

William McKinley ^^ 




GEORGE WASHINGTON 



LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS, 



GEORGE WASH-ING-TON. 

Way down in Vir-gin-i-a, near a small creek, c 
riclg-es Creek, there is a shaft of white stone ; — on it i 
ame of George Wash-ing-ton and the date of his b 
eb-rn-ar-y 22d, 1732. 

On this spot once stood the big brick house in ^ 
eorge Wash-ing-ton w^as born ; it was built in 1657 by > 
rash-ing-ton ; his grand-son, Au-gus-tine, was the fa 
I the lit-tle boy who be-came our first pres-i-dent. 
loth-er of George Wash-ing-ton was Ma-ry Ball ; so s 
ad fair was she, when she was a young girl, that sh( 
nown as " Sweet Mol-ly." 

Now she was not the first wife of Au-gus-tine y 
ig-to.n ; and he had two boys, Law-rence and Au-gus 
dien he made her his wife. These boys were so kh 
leir small broth-er George, when he was young, and 
im so much help, all through his life, that their n 
tiould stay in your minds. When George was three ; 
Ld his home was burned to the ground, and his fs 
uilt a fine new house, just o-ver the riv-er from wher 
Lt-y of Fred-er-icks-burg now stands. Here George 
3 his first school, and the name of the man who ts 
im was so queer, it will not go out of your mind ; — ii 
Hob-by." In those old days, the boys wrote to theii 



LIVES OF THE PRESlDEKTS. 

s ; he longed, just as boys would to-day, to throw 
lis books, to leave school, to go to the true war and 
real gun ; and when he was flf-teen, his broth-er 
nee, who was a sol-dier, tried to make his moth-er 
L join the na-vy, as he was too young to go to the 
But this moth-er was a ver-y wise wo-man, and said 
it his place was at home un-til he knew how to care 
great plan-ta-tion and the ma-ny slaves that in five 
^ears would be his. 

w, at this time, this great land of ours was so wild 
was hard to tell how much land a man owned, just 
one great farm end-ed and the next be-gan ; and a 
10 knew the land so well that he could tell folks just 
lings Avould be of much use ; so George now be-gan 
much time to just this work ; and so well did he do 
soon folks came to him when they were in doubt, 
ct this work led, as you shall see, straight up to the 
ent's seat. His broth-er Law-rence had mar-ried 
^air-fax, and in their home at Mt. Ver-non George 
i-ny great men ; a-mong oth-ers was Lord Thom-as 
s, who owned a piece of land so large that he did not 
LOW big it was ; he sent George to find this out ; and 
is young boy had a rough piece of real work to do. 
March, 1748, he and a young friend, George Wil-ham 
K, left the ease of Mt. Ver-non to live in the wild 
where they would see on-ly Indians, or, at the best, 
white men ; in the log huts of the white men they 
50 much dirt that, af-ter one tri-al, rath-er than sleep 
y straw, with no sheet, and but one torn, thin blan- 
^y ei-ther lay on the bare floor, near the big wood-fire, 
built a huge fire in the woods and lay close to it on 
th. They had to swim their hors-es o-ver streams ; 



GEORGE WASHINGTON. 

ley shot wild deer and birds, and of-ten cooked am 
lem, alone in the great wild woods, far from e-ven the ( 
: the In-di-ans. Once, at least, we know, from a little 
L which each night George wrote of what they had 
lat day, that they saw a grand war-dance of the In-di 
le mu-sic by which they danced was made by a pot 
ill of wa-ter, with a deer-skin o-ver the top, and a g 




MOUNT VERNON-THE HOME OF WASHINGTON. 



led with shot ; this must have made queer mu-si 
mce by. 

The boys were gone six weeks, and did their wor 
ell that the gov-ern-or heard of it, and he made Geor 
)ub-lic sur-vey-or ; " that is, it was his place to find ou" 
^e of all the new farms ; and his word was to be law. 
ust have done this work well, too, for the lines whicl 



LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. 

m were the ones used by the new States years and 
'-ter his death. 

for weeks at a time, lie was a-lone in the woods with 
i-ans ; Uv-ing in their camps, and learn-ing of their 
3y taught him ma-ny things ; and they, in turn, 
to love and trust him ; this lone-ly hfe made him a 
Lid qui-et man ; one who talked ht-tle ; and it taught 
Mnk for him-self , at an age when most boys are 
at to do by their par-ents and friends, 
en he was not in the woods, hard at work, he was 
^ernon ; and here the talk was of the great lands in 
t ; and of the war bet- ween the Eng-hsh and the 
who were each try-ing to drive a-way the oth-er, 
^e both try-ing to force out the In-di-ans. It was 
lard for the In-di-ans, who now had not on-ly to fight 
i-er, but the white men, too. At last they took sides, 
ith the Eng-lish, some with the French ; and a fierce 
ke out o-ver the land near the 0-hi-o River ; no white 
d yet lived there, and both sides wished to own it. 
) French moved ver-y fast, and built great forts, and 
^n there to keep the Eng-lish a-way ; it was no " play- 
L which Wash-ing-ton now took part ; he had real 
xler him ; but, just as he be-gan to learn what real 
LS, he had to go to the West In-dies with his broth-er 
ace, who was ver-y sick. They spent the win-ter 
•ut Law-rence did not get weh, and came back to Mt. 
1 in the spring, where he died in Ju-ly, 1752. 
left his land in charge of Wash-ing-ton, who now 
lis home there; and when his broth-er's daugh-ter 
be-came the own-er. 

w, while Wash-ing-ton had been a-way, the French 
en ver-y ac-tive; they had made friends Avith the 



GEORGE WASHINGTON. 

n-di-ans, and had e-ven dared to send some Eng-lish tr; 
Q a ship to France. 

At this act Eng-land was up and in arms, and 
i-ver great ships and ma-ny men to help fight the Fi 
'he first step that Eng-land took was to send men to 
he French a- way from the Eng-lish forts in Penn-syl-vs 
lid Wash-ing-ton, who knew bet-ter than a-ny one ek 
ough wild woods, and who was a friend of the In-d 
3d a lit-tle band of sev-en men through the dense, 
^^oods and o-ver riv-ers filled with float-ing ice, up t 
Yench lines. He told the chief man of the French t 
List what the F^^i^lish said, bat this French man a 
ot give up c ".? .oh of ground that he had won froi 
n-di-ans, and gave Wash-ing-ton a note to take back 
im. in which he said as much. 

Of course Eng-land could take but one course 
nd so the long, fierce war known as the '' Sev-en 1 
i^ar" be-gan. Wash-ing-ton was made a colo-nel, 
bowed so much skill, and was so brave, that in a 
me he took charge of part of the troops of Gen-er-al 
ock. 

In June, 1755, the troops made a start for Fori 
aesne, where they were to stay ; and on this trip, - 
ley were deep in the woods, the In-di-ans, with : 
irieks and wild cries, sprang on them from the rockj 
-ees. The horse on which Wash-ing-ton rode was ; 
en-er-al Brad-dock got such a wound that he died, 
la-ny poor men were killed. Here again Wash-in 
3t-ed so brave-ly, and was so wise, that the sol-diers 
lat Brad-dock had lost the day and Wash-ing-ton 
ived the ar-my. 

At Brad-dock's death Wash-ing-ton was made chi 



LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. 

roops in the col-o-nies ; and the first tiling he did 
place men near the homes which the white men 
ik-ing in the new lands, and so help these ear-ly. 
to stop the In-di-ans when they came to rob them 
urn np their lit-tle log cab-ins, for a great fear of 
men was o-ver all the land. Now, when the war 
a close with the fall of the French, we find that 
g-ton is a very great man, that his troops love him 
ich, and that the heads of the states feel that he is 
;, wise man, and one whom they can trust. All 
3, you know, he was an Eng-lish sol-dier, fight-ing 
land ; but, deep in his heart, and in the hearts of 
brave men who fought with him, there was, we 
sure, a love for this fair land, and a long-ing for its 
d. 

n^ the war Avas at an end Wash-ing-ton, who was 
id to give up his post, mar-ried Mrs. Eus-tis, a young 
with two lit-tle chil-dren, a girl of six years and a 
velve, and went to Mt. Ver-non to live. For twen-ty 
)W he lived the qui-et life he loved so well. He took 
re of his farm, was hap-py with his fam-i-ly and 
and grew, day by day, in power. He did not lead 
life, you may be sure ; he rose ear-ly, had his break- 
lev-en in sum-mer and eight in win-ter ; then rode 
; farm and saw that all was right. He had his din- 
wo o'clock ; then had an ear-ly tea, and of -ten was 
)y nine o'clock. Twice a year he sent to Lon-don 
gs need-ed in the way of dress for his fam-i-ly and 
or tools, books, drugs, etc. Some of the things he 
for the chil-dren I think you boys and girls would 
. He sent for " tops, lit-tle books for chil-dren to 
ioll, and oth-er toys." 



GEORGE WASHIIS^GTON. 



Wash-ing-ton loved hors-es and was ver-y fond of h 
^. The name of his pet horse was " Blue-skin " ; he r 
ve looked ver-y fine when he was on horse-back ; f o 
is a big man, with bright blue eyes and high color, 









MARTHA WASHINGTON. 



wore a red vest with gold lace on it, and a dark I 
-jh coat. Mrs. AVash-ing-ton rode in a fine car-riage dra 
four hors-es, and her driv-er wore the Wash-ing-ton 
of red, white and gold. These old days were full of 



10 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. 

and fun, but there was work as well, and soon cam 
talk of war. 

All through these twen-ty years this land was 
ing big-ger and big-ger ; and at last came the time 
folks did not see why they should not be free from Ei 
and rule their own land in their own way. 

At last Eng-land made a law called the '' Stamj 
which put so high a tax on goods that folks here woi 
pay it ; tea was one of the things on which this tax w 
and when Eng-land sent o-ver three ships full of tea 
ton, our men would not let it be ta-ken from the shi] 
broke the great chests and threw all the tea in the 
This act is known as the " Bos-ton Tea Par-ty " ; an 
the first signs of war were seen ; a fierce fight took i 
Lex-ing-ton, one Sun-day morn-ing, be-tween the Brit-i 
A-mer-i-can troops ; and now, all o-ver the land, went 
cry, " To arms ! To arms ! " 

This is how the great War of In-de-pend-ence I 
and you know the name of the man who was at on 
at the head of the A-mer-i-can ar-my — George Wash-i: 
of course ! Now he is not an Eng-lish-man fight-ing 
king, but an A-mer-i-can fight-ing to free his own la: 
long, hard fight it Avas, too, but not once did Wash-i 
or his brave men lose heart. He drove the Brit-ish 
Bos-ton, and then, for fear they would go to New Y( 
sent men there ; but the Brit-ish ships went to Can-^ 
stead, and made that land theirs. 

It was just at this time that Rich-ard Hen-ry L 
boy-friend of Wash-ing-ton, made a move in Con-gre 
our land should say to the whole world that it would 1 
from Brit-ish rule ; and so the Dec-lar-a-tion of In-d 
ence was drawn up and sent out to the world on July - 



GEOEGE AVASHIKGTON. 




War now be-gan in dead-ly earn-est ; and, at the gi 
-tie of Long Isl-and, our men met with great loss of ] 
I had to flee from the foe. Soon af-ter this bad news 
t-ish took Phil-a-del-phi-a, and 
V Wash-ing-ton was sad at heart ; 
Christ-mas day of 1776, though, [M^ 
' troops won in the great fight 
t took place at Tren-ton, and 
re "was joy in the whole land ; 
>d news came with the New 
M", too, for Wash-ing-ton won 
-ny fights ; and at last, in Oc-to- 
, 1777, the Brit-ish troops in 
irge of Gen-er-al Bur-goyne gave 

their arms to Gen-er-al Gates, lieutenant-general burgoo 

1 ' I n -I r^rvw i ^ From an English print, 1733. 

it wm-ter of 1777 was a bad one 

Wash-ing-ton and his men ; at no time in the war 
y suf-f er so much ; the time was spent at Val-ley Foi 
I the men lived in log huts which they had first bi 
ong straight lines, like cit-y streets ; twelve men li 
3ach hut, and there was a fire-place at the back, but 

could keep out the aw-ful cold, and no hut was si 
)ugh to keep out the snow that fell in great drifts a-roi 
5 lit-tle town of log huts. To make things worse th 
^ lit-tle food to be had ; the men had on-ly poor, t' 
■hes, and their bare feet oft-en left marks of blood 

white snow. But the men did not lose hope, and k 
ir faith through all the long months in their gr 
1-er, whose lot was quite as hard as theirs was ; 
m-house in which he had a room still stands, and i 
d to be-lieve, as you look at this old house on the bai 
lie Del-aware Eiv-er, that once the big or-chard back o 



LIVES OF THE PEESIDEXTS. 



the pret-ty fields were filled with poor little wood-en 
L which, for the sake of free-dom, lived and suf -fered 
mds of brave men. 

the spring things were bet-ter, for France joined 
i-ca in her fight for free-dom, and three years from 
ne the Brit-ish were beaten at York-town and A-mer- 
LS free. One of the great French-men, who gave us 
much help, and was a firm friend of 
Wash-ing-ton's^ was the Mar-quis de 
La-fay-ette. 

A ver-y sad thing dur-ing these 
last years of the war was the base act 
of Ben-e-dict Ar-nold, who made up 
his mind to sell to the Brit-ish some 
posts near West Point, of which he 
had charge. He sent a note to Clin- 
ton by a young Brit-ish sjjy, Ma-jor 
An-dre ; but on his way to the Brit- 
3S this young man was caught by three of our men. 
bund the note in his boots and he was brought to 
mer-i-can camp, tried for his life and hung as a spy. 
[ict Ar-nold had made his way to a ship and set sail 
g-land, and his name is hatred, not on-ly by his own 
ut by e-ven the land to whom he tried to sell his 

was in March, 1783, that the news of peace spread 
:h the land, and it is said that Wash-ing-ton wept 
Dy, as he read the glad news to his troops ; he gave 
: that the whole ar-my should give thanks to God ; and 
'as done at a great meet-ing on the day af-ter Lord 
v^al-lis laid down his sword. Then there was a great 
v-en at Fred-er-icks-burg, and Wash-ing-ton's old moth- 




3 DE LAFAYETTE. 



GEORGE WASHINGTON. 

sev-en-ty-four years old, was there lean-ingon the an 
r son ; and do you not think she was proud, as one a 
-oth-er of the great French of-fi-cers bowed to her, 
3ke in her son's praise ? 

It was on Christ-mas eve that Wash-ing-ton came h 
Mt. Vernon, af-ter eight years of war : rid-ing in si 
th his wife at his side, this great A-mer-i-can, feared : 







SURRENDER OF CORNWALLIS AT YORKTOWN. 



kings, and loved more than ev-er by the coun-try he 
de free, came glad-ly back to take up the qui-et coun 
i he loved so well ; and here, could he have had his v 
would have lived un-til his death ; but this new coun 
id-ed at its head a man whom folks loved and trust 
1 of whom oth-er lands stood in fear. No man but W^ 
-ton could fill this great place ; and so, at the end 



LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. 

years, once more at his coun-try's call, he left h 
!, — this time to be-come the first Pres-i-dent of tl 
;ed States. Not one voice was a-gainst him ; eve-i 
in the new coun-try vot-ed to give him this last hon-o: 
►n Ap-ril 30th, 1789, in New York Ci-ty, he took tl 
of of-fice. Wash-ing-ton, who was a ve-ry rich ma 
ak-en no mon-ey for serv-ing his conn- try in the wai 
aid he would take none now ; but be-cause oth-er Pre 
;S might not be rich e-nough or good e-nough to wai 
the same, the peo-ple made him take $25,000 a yea: 
you know, the Pres-i-dent gets $50,000 a year, 
^ash-ing-ton was in New York but one year, then tl 
tal was moved to Phil-a-del-phia, and here he lived i 
state, un-til af-ter eight years in the Pres-i-dent\s chai 
more, and for the last time, he came back home to M 
Lon. 

i.t the end of his term of of-fice, Wash-ing-ton on-' 
3d to see the next Pres-i-dent, John Ad-am s, take tl 
, and soon af-ter he came back talk a-rose of war wi1 
3e ; and, of course, the coun-try turn-ed to him ; he wi 
1 put in charge of the ar-my, and took up the pub-1 
e had so glad-ly laid down. But he had not long 
it this time, for on De-cem-ber 12th, 1799, while rid-ir 
lard rain-storm, he took a heav-y cold, from which 1 
on Sat-ur-day night, De-cem-ber 14th, be-tween ten ar 
^e o'clock. 

A'^ash-ing-ton was bur-ied at Mt. Ver-non, and to-d£ 
omb of " The Fa-ther of his Coun-try," as he is lov-ing-' 
1 is a sa-cred place ; not on-ly to us, but to the men ar 
len of the old lands, Avhich were taught by him so lor 
bo hon-or and fear this great, new A-mer-i-ca. 
fVash-ing-ton had been dead just one hun-dred years c 



GEORGE WASHINGTON. 

i-cem-ber 14th, 1899, and the date was made much o 
3 U-nit-ed States : in New York Ci-ty, in Wash-ing- 
d at Mt. Ver-non there was a great time in his hon-or 
s great man is as dear to his coun-try to-day as he 
ten he was a-hve. 




WASHINGTON FAMILY VAULT. 



Lives of the presidents. 



JOHN AD-AMS. 

)HN Ad AMS was born, not in the far South with ma-n^ 
to wait on him, but on a small farm in Brain-tree 

Here, from old Eng-land had come, in 1636, his grea1 
■fa-ther, Hen-ry Ad-ams ; and in this old home wai 
>n Oc-to-ber 19th, 1735, John Ad-ams, who was to bi 
3-ond Pres-i-dent of the U-nit-ed States. Now, on thi; 
n the east, there was much work to be done, and f e^' 
t ; the folks who had made their homes here did no 
ich lives of ease as those who lived on the great farm; 
South. V 

3 a small boy, though, of course, he was taught t( 
nd write, John Ad-ams had a good deal of hard worl 

There was wood to chop, and snow to be clearec 
; there were hors-es and cows to care for, and ther< 
Luch work to do in the fields. In all this work Join 
lis part, like the brave, strong boy that he was. Whei 
ys grew long and cold, he was sent to an old schoc 
lis home, and here he at once took his place with th^ 
as one who would lead in fun and sport of all kinds 
was a good deal of fun, too, in those days, for boy 
Lrls both ; in the cold days there was good, strong ic 
lich to skate ; there was snow to play in, and to mak 
)ads for long rides in a sleigh ; and, when the day 
iong and hot, there were fish in the big streams, an( 
was game in the wild woods. John was not fond of hi 
, but still he did good work at school ; and when h 
uite young went to Har-vard Col-lege. He left it ii 




JOHN ADAMS. 



JOHN ADAMS. 

)5, just at the start of the " Sev-en Years' War " ; and 
me of George Wash-ing-ton, the brave young Col-o-ne 
r-gin-ia, rang loud in his ears. 

He taught school in Wor-ces-ter to earn the means to 1 
law ; and in 1758 he be-came a law-yer. He had m^ 
^es, and grew wise and great, though he did not n: 
ich mon-ey, as folks in the small town of Brain- 
Te far from rich and paid small fees. But he did m 
i-ny kind friends, and far and near he was known j 
m of clear, strong mind and quick, bright thoughts 
d a fine, sweet voice, too, and his speech-es were al-^^ 
3e and showed much thought. 

In the strife with Eng-land he was, from the start 
3 side of A-mer-i-ca. So much did Eng-land fear 
1757, the Eng-lish king sent word that he would give 
3at wealth if he would serve him at this time. Ad-, 
)uld not do this; he would speak and act just as 
3ught right, and be bound by no king. When the " Stj 
t " passed in 1764, he made a great speech, which 
it to those at the head of his State ; and when, in 1 
Toop of Brit-ish fired on a mob of A-mer-i-can men 
^s in the streets of Bos-ton, he took the case to 
irts, and spoke for the Brit-ish Cap-tain and his r 
3Ugh they had killed five of our men. It may s 
'ange to you that Ad-ams, who stood for A-mer-i 
;hts, should here take sides with the Brit-ish ; but, fir.^ 
, he stood for law ; and, though he knew he ran the 
los-ing his high place in the hearts of A-mer-i-can r 
11 he would do what he thought right. But men 
ith, and like to see a brave man act as he thinks right, 
felt that he had just the clear, cool head and brain and 
'ong warm heart to give aid in the dark days that wei 



LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. 



o the land. He was sent to the First Con-gress and 
le of the three men who drew up the Dec-la-ra-tion oi 
end-ence. 

He was al-so one oi 
three men to go to France 
and ask for the aid which 
she gave to A-mer-i-ca, 

h<^^ '2^^^^^^ - win-ter 

Do you see why this trip 
at this time was a brave 
act, and one by which Ad- 
ams ran a o:reat risk of los- 




sprm^ 



m 
^ af-ter that hard 
at Val-ley Forge. 



ing his hf e ? 



Eng-land had 



CARPENTER'S HALL. 

first Continental Congress met Septem 
ber, 1774, 



no wish that he should 
reach France, and her ships 
tried in vain to get him. If 
he had been caught he 
would have been hung, as a 
man who was false to his 
id his king. You know that he went to France 
L, and did his work well. He stood up for our rights 
id a bill passed which made the ports of France and 
id free to our goods. At the end of the war he was 
) Eng-land to look out for our rights there; and, 
L now this is a pleas-ant task, it Avas not then, for it 
xrd for Ad-ams to be true to A-mer-i-ca and yet not 
the Eng-lish king, George III. 

Lt we have seen how bold and brave a man he was, 
first thing he said to the king was : " I must tell your 
ty that I love no coun-try but my own " ; and said the 
" An hon-est man will nev-er love an-y oth-er," In 



JOHN ADAMS. 




Ate of this, Ad-ams met with much rude-ness at the 

ih court ; but he did his best for his coun-try, and ^ 

3 came home in 1787, af-ter twelve 

3ars of hard worlv, he was met with 

^eat joy. He was made Vice-Presi- 

^nt with Wash-ing-ton, and at the 

id of Wash-ing-ton^s term of of-fice 

3 was made Pres-i-dent. He served 

i-ly four years and then made way 

>r Thom-as Jef-fer-son. 

At the age of six-ty-eight years, 

ith the love of the whole land, he 

ent to his home in Quin-cy, Mass. 

;is heart was ever with his coun-try ; 

id he lived un-til his son, John 

uin-cy Ad-ams, was made Pres-i- 

3nt of the U-nit-ed States. 

His last thoughts were for his coun-try. On June 

326, he gave as a toast for the great feast to be he! 

a-ly 4th the words : " In-de-pend-ence for-ev-er." 

He died on the night of 
A-mer-i-ca's great day. His 
words were of Jef-fer-son. He 
" Thom-as Jef-fer-son still 1: 
But this was not so, for Jef-fe 
had died a few hours be-foi 
this same day ; and this young 
wept for two of her great men, 

f whom, in giv-lng up their best to their coun-try, h 

3 make it the great, free land that it is to-day. 



GEORGE III. 
From an anonymous F 




RESIDENCE OF JOHN ADAMS 
At Quincy, Mass. 



LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. 



THOMAS JEF-FER-SON. 

EN Thom-as Jef-fer-son was a boy his home was so 
3 In-di-ans' camp and he saw so much of them that 
re all boys will like to read of him. His fa-ther, 
ef-f er-son, took his bride, Jane Ran-dolph, to a house 
id tract of land of o-ver 1,000 a-cres, way out in Vir- 
Lght in the midst of great woods. He was a big, 
nan, and this strength was ve-ry use-ful to him in 
: his new home, for he had to chop down huge trees 
a cut them up in-to the logs of which the lit-tle log 
as built. He took with him in-to this wild new land 
'ew slaves, but with their help his farm soon grew 
nd he be-came a rich man. The In-di-ans were great 
of his, and al-ways sure of a warm wel-come in his 

I, the In-di-ans were not al-ways at peace with the 
ten, who had come to make their homes so near 
ad folks had to be on the watch for fear the red 
uld rob and kill them. Pe-ter Jef-fer-son was made 
L of the men who kept the In-di-ans back in the 
md a- way from the lit-tle town that was fast grow- 
lear his home. 

this great, strong man was fond of books, and it 
h his fa-ther that lit-tle Thom-as be-gan to stu-dy. 
al-so taught to ride, to swim and to shoot ; and as 
fond of mu-sic he spent long hours in learn-ing 
on the vi-o-lin, or "fid-die" as it was then called. 



THOMAS JEFFERSON. 

^he Iii-di-ans near his home hkecl him, and he used to 
Lines for the ht-tle, brown In-di-an boys to dance by. 

He was on-ly nine years old when he went to boa] 
chool with a Mr. Doug-lass, and here he be-gan to ^ 
jat-in, Greek and French. He was so near home th 
id not stay a- way long at a time ; and in-deed, this 
vas such a hap-py one, so full of life and fun, that he d 
^ant to be a- way from it long at one time. 

But this hap-py time did not last long, for Thom-a 
ut four-teen years old when his brave fa-ther was si 
, fight with the In-di-ans. This boy was now at the h( 
,s big a place as the fa-ther of George Wash-ing-ton he 
him, and though he kept on with his books he ha 
are of this great farm to think of and plan for. He 
•right, well-read boy ; and was but six-teen when he t 
•lace at Wil-liam and Ma-ry Col-lege. Here, his Ioa^ 
•ooks and mu-sic kept him from the wild life led by 
f the young men there, and made friends for him a- 
he great men, whose homes were in Wil-liams-town. 

He met a great law-yer, George Wythe, and be-ga 
tu-dy of law with him when, at the end of two yeai 
3ft col-lege. In five years he be-gan the prac-tise of 1 
lis old home in Vir-gin-ia. In two years, so brighi 
luick was he, and of such a strong, clear mind, that h 
98 cas-es, held a high place in his State, and was a 
aan. 

In 1770, while he and his moth-er were a- way 
Lome, the old house burned down. When news o: 
ame to Jef-fer-son, his first thought was for his book 
le said to the slave who had told him : '' Did you save 
•f my books ? " " No, mas-ter," said the slave, '' but y^ 
ave your fid-die." You see e-ven when he was a grea 



LIVES OF THE PEESIDEXTS.. 



an he still loved his fid-die ; but the loss of all his law 
rds ve-ry hard for a bu-sy law-yer, and it took him a 
lile to get the new books that he must have. 

He had be-gun to 
build a ve-ry large new 
house at Mon-ti-cel-lo, 
and so in the lit-tle end 
of this he now went to 
live. Two years lat-er, 
to this home, which was 
to be-come known all 
o-ver the world, he 
brought his bride, Mrs. 
Mar-tha Skel-ton, a 
young and ve-ry rich 
wid-ow. Thoy were 
i on New Year's Day, 1772, and came to their home 
a hard snow-storm that the hors-es could not drag 
di through the big drifts, so these two young folks 
warm coach, and rode the tired hors-es up to the 
their new home. Jef-fer-son and his wife gave 
are to Mon-ti-cel-lo, and it was known far and near 
great beau-ty and for its choice and rare fruits and 




MONTICELLO. 
The Home of Thomas Jefferson, 



b Jef-fer-son was much from home. In 1762 he was 
3on-gress, and here he at once stood at the head of the 
wise and great men who were then there. His 
as so clear and bright that in all the grave things 
me up he knew at once just what to do, he had the 
' all men. 

was a great help in writ-ing the Dec-la-ra-tion of In- 
L-ence ; in fact, it may well be said that he wrote it. 



THOMAS JEFFERSO^\ 

)n af-ter this great act he left Con-gress and turned 
nd to the laws of his OAvn State ; he made them safe 
;t for all men, both rich and poor. In 1779 he was w 
^-ern-or of Vir-gin-ia ; and now his work was hard ; 
ly mnst he find a way to keep the In-di-ans from 
is-es of the white men bnt the Brit-ish came down to 
ith and laid his fair home in ruins. Not for long y( 
. Mon-ti-cel-lo grow in beau-ty once more. But thro 
the dark years of war Jef-f er-son did his work well 
ced back the In-di-an foes, and gave help and aid to 
ite while the War for In-de-pend-ence went on. When 
,r was at an end, this strong, just man, with his cl 
^e brain, was just the one to stand up for our rights in 
ids a-cross the sea, so he was sent to France at the t 
-ams was in Eng-land. While here he had a bill pa^ 
which Eng-land said she would look on our land as f ] 
i this was a big point for us to gain. 

When Jef-fer-son came home he was made Sec-re-t; 
State, and in this high of-fice did much good work 
;S he who first gave us our own coins to use in place of 
g-lish coins, which, up to that time had been in use h 
•w, Al-ex-an-der Ham-il-ton was in charge of the worj 
ik-ing the coin, and a great feud came up be-tween ' 
d Jef-fer-son as to how this should be done. Mer 
irse, took sides in this strife, and so two bands sprang 
lich were known as Re-pub-li-cans and Fed-er-al-ists : 
Y these two bands are known as Re-pub-li-cans 
m-o-crats. Al-ex-an-der Ham-il-ton was killed in a d 
Aa-ron Burr in Ju-ly, 1804. 

In 1801, Jef-fer-son was made Pres-i-dent ; and whil 
ls in the chair this land grew strong and great. 

Our first steam-boat was built by Rob-ert Ful-ton w 



LIVES OF THE TRESIDENTS. 

er-son was Pres-i-dent ; and it did not look at all liket 

: boats of to-day ; it was a heav-y, clum-sy boat, whi 

> by sails as well as steam. 

' -^■:^^. ^ Jef-f er-son tried hard to put i 

end to the slave-trade, which '. 
felt was a great wrong ; he thougl 
too, that folks should have t' 
right to serve God in their ov 
way ; and he held that on-ly m< 
THE CLERMONT. who could read and write shou 

■rt Ful-ton''s first Steam-boat. ^^^j. 

ie was a great and a wise man ; books were his de 
ds ; and so one of the hard-est things he had to do, af-t 
3nt home to Mon-ti-cel-lo, when he left the White Horn 
jO sell all his books to Con-gress in or-der to get monn 
e on. To his own home hosts of friends and stran-ge 
i to see the great man, just as they had when he was 
i-ing-ton. But he sold his books so cheap that tl 
ey did not help him much ; and, at last, it seemed , 
must sell his dear old home. But now the peo-ple f 
n he had done so much helped him, and a big fund w; 
:1, so that he could keep his home and live there : 
fort un-til his death. 

Ie lived to be a ver-y old man, and e-ven when he w; 
3ak he could not rise from his bed, his great, stror 
L was still clear. You know that he died on the 4th ^ 
, 1826, just a few hours be-fore tlie death of his o 
d, John Ad-ams. 

^ext to the name of George Wash-ing-ton, there is i 
3 a-mong the great men of our land, of which the pe 
re so proud, as that of Thom-as Jef-fer-son. 




THOMAS JEFFERSON. 




JAMES MADISON 



JAMES MADISOIS". 



JAMES MAD-I-SON. 

In the home of his grand-f ath-er at Port Con-way, ^ 
i-a, was born, in the spring of 1751, the small boy ^\ 
; to be our fourth Pres-i-dent. He was ver-y you: 
igh, when he went to live at Mon-ti-cel-lo, his fath-( 
it farm in Vir-gin-i-a, and here he led much the sa 
as George Wash-ing-ton did when a boy. He was 1 
nail boy when the French and Eng-lish War be-gan, s 
3n Brad-dock lost the day, a great fear of the In-di-^ 
3ad to the ver-y door of his home ; and he grew up w 
name of George "Wash-ing-ton ev-er in his ears, a^ 
it he-ro. 

His school days were much like those of Jef-f er-s 
was a young boy when he could read French and Span- 
ti ease, and was as well hard at work at Greek and Lat- 
.769 he went to Prince-ton Col-lege, and here, as well 
m he was at home, Jef-f er-son was a great help to hi 
I old-er man wrote to the boy in the qui-et old col-l( 
n, a-bout the scenes of war ; he told him much of i 
rish troops in the Bos-ton streets, of young John j 
I and of Wash-ing-ton. So, when in 1771 he left col-le 
^new a great deal a-bout the strife of the day, and 1: 
p, clear thoughts a-bout it. At home he led a qui-et ] 
ti his books, un-til 1774, then he was put at the headc 
men, who were to guard their own town if the Brit- 
)ps came there. In this post he showed such a wi 
r mind and did his part so well that in a short time 
; put in a high place in his State, and from there in 1\ 



LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. 



sent to Con-gress. Jef-f er-son was at this time Gov-ei 
Vir-gin-i-a, and the two men were close, warm f rienc 
J'or twen-ty five years Mad-i-son was one of the fii 
in this land. He had no taste for war, but he so( 
a high place with those who made the laws of the Ian 
of the great things he did was to help draw up t' 
5ti-tu-tion of the U-nit-ed States. 
11 1794 this grave and qui-et man mar-ried, as Wash-in 

ton and Jef-fer-son hj 
done, a young and love- 
wid-ow. She was but twe 
ty-two years old, twen- 
years young-er than he, ai 
her name was Mrs. Dor 
thy Payne Todd. Lat-er o 
the folks who grew to lo' 
this fair la-dy so well, ga^ 
her the name by which t 
know her to-day — ''Dol- 
Mad-i-son." She was 
Quak-er-ess, and so fair ai 
sweet was she, in her qui- 
lit-tle gown of gray, th 
once a friend said to he: 
''Dol-ly, tru-ly thou mu 
hide thy face, so ma-r 
stare at thee." 

For one year af-t' 
his mar-riage, Mad-i-sc 
lived at Mont-pel-ier ; the 
n he went in-to pub-lie life, first in his State, ar 
.^ that, in 1800, as Sec-re-ta-ry of State un-der Jef-f er-so: 




MRS. DOLLY PAYNE MADISON. 



JAMES MADISON. 

Now, be-gan the gay life at the White House, for wl 
>ol-ly" Mad-i-son won so much fame. Jef-fer-son's ^ 
s dead, and it was the wife of his friend that helped 1 
ter-tain the White House guests. WeU did this lo^ 
iy do her part, and in 1808 when, as the wife of the I 
3nt, she be-came the real mis-tress of the White Ho 
>re than ev-er did the peo-ple love her. To-day, of ah 
;-tures of the Pres-i-dents' wives that hang up-on 
tiite House walls, none is more love-ly than that of 
y and pretty " Dol-ly Mad-i-son." 

Mad-i-son was most of aU a man of peace, and yet it 
die he was in of -fice that the U-nit-ed States Avas drawn i 
3 War of 1812. Eng-land, then at war with France, said 
d the right to search A-mer-i-can ships to see if they ^ 
^-ing aid to France. A-mer-i-ca would not give this r 
Eng-land, and so the war be-gan. In 1814 the Brl 
me to the cit-y of Wash-ing-ton, and for the on-ly tin 
mer-i-can his-to-ry the Pres-i-dent had to leave his h( 

Mad-i-son, with the Sec-re-ta-ry of State and s 
ends, went to a lit-tle inn near Wash-ing-ton, and 
ey were met by Mrs. Mad-i-son, who had stayed as 
she could at the White House to save some things i 
e hands of the Brit-ish. She had brought the great 
■ra-tion of In-de-pend-ence, and had cut from its big fr 
e pic-ture of Wash-ing-ton and brought it safe-ly a-^ 
le Brit-ish troops set fire to the White House, the n 
ird, the Cap-i-tol, and in fact the whole town. They 
great haste, though, when they heard that our tr 
ere on the way, and the next day Mrs. Mad-i-son put oi 
•ess of a wash-wo-man, so folks would not know her, 
ade a start for her home, but the British had set fi] 
bridge she had to cross on the way and then she be. 



LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. 

-mer-i-can sol-dier to row her o-ver the riv-er. H 
I not do so un-til she told him who she was, and the 
IS ver-y glad to take this brave lit-tle la-dy in his boa 
black ash-es marked the spot on which the White Hou^ 
nee stood, so she had to go to her sis-ter's home, whei 
res-i-dent soon joined her. 

he Eng-lish troops now tried to take Bal-ti-more, bi 
>rave men drove them back ; and when they trie 
ake a raid on New Or-le-ans, Gen-er-al Jack-son an 
oops fought so hard that the foe could not get in-1 

t-y. 

'his was the last fight of this war, and peace was signe 
ent, De-cem-ber 24th, 1814. From that day Eng-lan 
ad to leave our ships a-lone and to treat A-mer-i-ca i 

I the great nations of the world. 

II 1817 Mad-i-son was not sor-ry to go back to his ol 
, and here ma-ny hap-py years were spent, for the fa 

of the White House kept open house in her ow 

, and guests from far and near were glad to con 

One of Mad-i-son's dear-est friends was old Thom-^ 

T-son, who oft-en rode o-ver from his home at Mon-1 

which was on-ly thir-ty miles from Mont-pel-ier. 
lad-i-son wrote a good deal at this time; and on( 
1 was seen in pub-lie life. In 1829 he was at the hee 
3 great change made in all the laws of the whole Ian 
le died af -ter a long sick-ness at his home in Mont-p( 
1 June 28th, 1836. 



JAMES MONKOE. 



JAMES MON-EOE. 

James Mon-roe was, like Wash-ing-ton, Mad-i-son 
^f-fer-son, born in Vir-gin-i-a. Our first Pres-i-dent 
st twen-ty six years old when, in West-more-land Cor 
L A-pril 28tli, 1758, was born the boy who was to be 
'th Pres-i-dent. His fa-ther, Colo-nel Spense Mor 
v^ned a big farm and was quite rich. Lit-tle James was 
good schools and did not have to work to earn the m 
stay in school. He learned at first to hunt, to skate 
swim ; and was good friends with all the boys ; 
trough all the fun and school work came up the tal 
ar ; of the long strife with Eng-land and the fierce 
en. It was hard for a brave boy to hear such talk 
)t keep on at his books, and though Mon-roe did ^ 
'il-liam and Mary Col-lege, he did not stay long, fo 
3ar of him in 1775 at the camp near Bos-ton. In 177 
e him at tne head of a band of men, and from that 
1 he was in the thick of the fight. He fought at y^ 
iains and Har-lem Heights, and was so brave that the ^ 
^ash-ing-ton gave him high praise for his work, and i 
m, when but eight-een years old, a cap-tain in the ai 
t the great fight at Tren-ton he got a bad wound and 
► rest for some time. In the big fights of the war 
:'ave young man was one of the first in the field ; his I 
ere ev-er high, and he put heart in-to the weak and ^ 
ten who looked to him for help in the sad years of the 
1 1780 he bo-gan the stud-y of law with his old f] 



LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS, 
as Jef-fer-son and soon led the bright men of th( 

) good a friend of his was Jef-fer-son, that the hom( 
ch Mon-roe took his bride.in 1785, was planned for hin 
-f er-son, who, so it is said, al-so gave him the nails t( 
t with. 

1794 he was sent to France to look out for A-mer-i 
gilts, but he found talk of war there at that time 
50-ple did not want a king an-y long-er, but wished t( 
le a free land like A-mer-i-ca, with a pres-i-dent at th( 

and Mad-i-son, who was a Ee-pub-li-can, took sidei 
he Ee-pub-li-cans in France. The king did not lik( 
nd so Mad-i-son had to come home at the end of tw( 

it he met with a wel-come at home, and his own Stat( 

him its Gov-ern-or. In 1803 he was once more sen 

nee ; this time to buy the State of Lou-is-i-an-a fron 

^ench, and he paid Na-po-le-on for this large Stat( 

),000. 

vice Mon-roe was sent to Spain and once to Eng-land 

his task was to force Eng-land to stop her search o 

-i-can ships. You know he could not do this, for tha 

le cause of the War of 1812. 

red and sad at heart, he came back home, and wai 

3 rest for a while in his own home ; but he was of to( 

use to his coun-try to be i-dle long. Once more, ii 

le was made Gov-ern-or of Vir-gin-i-a. 

len came the War of 1812 ; and it was Mon-roe, nov 

ta-ry of State, who, at the head of a few men, sa^ 

it-ish land near Wash-ing-ton and sent word to Mad 

o leave the cit-y. He al-so act-ed as Sec-re-ta-ry o 

t this time, and so well did he do his part that in 18K 



JAMES MONEOE. 

e was named for Pres-i-dent by the Dem-o-crats. H 
le most votes and so took the first place in our { 
ind. 

His first act was to pay off the great debt whicl 
Tav of 1812 had brought on us. He did tliis in a ver-y i 
me ; and now our trade grew so great that rail-roads 
lilt ; and so our first rail-road was made while Mad- 
as Pres-i-dent. 




FIRST RAILROAD TRAIN. 

There was a fierce war with the In-di-ans in Flo] 
; this time ; but Gen-er-al Jack-son was sent down 1 
id he forced them to lay down their arms and keej 
)ace. 

Just at this time, too, we got Flor-i-da from the '. 
' Spain, and gave up Tex-as, af-ter pay-ing a big su: 
on-ey to the A-mer-i-cans, who had been robbe( 
3ain. 

Mis-sou-ri came in-to the Un-ion while Mon-roe 
[•es-i-dent, and there was a fierce storm of words 
orth said she should not hold slaves after she was a S 
le South said that she should. 

At last Con-gress gave way to the South-ern St< 
it made a law that there should be a line drawn thrc 
le land, north of which no State should hold slaves. 

In 1825 Mon-roe was free to go to his home at Oak 
ir-gin-i-a, and here he lived un-til 1830. His wife die 



LIVES OF THE I^RESIDENTS. 

ear, and then he went to hve with his daugh-ter ii 
fork. He died here on the 4th of Ju-ly, 1831, and hij 
is one that the whole land loves and hon-ors. 
e was bur-ied in New York, but on the one hnn-dredtl 
^er-sa-ry of his birth, his bod-y was tak-en to Rich 
Vir-gin-i-a, and a hand-some stone raised o-ver hi 




JAMES MONROE. 




JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 



JOHN QUIXCY ADAMS. 



JOHN QUIN-CY AD-AMS. 

The lit-tle boy who be-came our sixth Pres-i-dent 1 
te not at all hke that of an-y oth-er of the boys of w 
)U have read. His fa-ther was John Ad-ams, our sec 
:'es-i-dent, and when, on Ju-ly 11th, 1767, lit-tle John Qu 
d-ams was born in the old home at Brain-tree, Mass, 
-eat fa-ther was al-read-y speak-ing brave-ly for his ( 
y's rights in the cit-y of Bos-ton. In 1772 the fam-i-ly m 
I Bos-ton, and lit-tle John, for two years, saw, as the o 
)ys did, the Brit-ish sol-diers in their bright red coal 
i-rade in the Bos-ton streets, and heard on all sides te 
ar with Eng-land. He saw a lit-tle of real war, too 
hen he was eight years old, his moth-er took him oi 
■ a high hih, called Be-mis Hill, from which he sa^^ 
noke and heard the roar of can-non in that aw-f ul b 
: Bunk-er Hill. When, in 1776, the Brit-ish left Boj 
lis lit-tle lad of nine years used to oft-en ride on I 
ick in and out of the city to bring home the lat-est i 
his was a ride of twen-ty-two miles from the old hor 
rain-tree, where Mrs. Ad-ams had gone when herhus- 
ent to Con-gress, and I think it took a pret-ty brave 
;rong boy to ride all those long miles a-lone. 

When John Ad-ams went to France to try and get h( 
)r A-mer-i-ca, he took with him his lit-tle boy, then ten ; 
[d. It was a rough, hard trip ; for, not on-ly were 
erce winds which lashed the waves in-to fu-ry, but 
^ere chased by Brit-ish ships, for Eng-land did not 

3 



LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. 

.d-ams to get this help from France. But they 
Par-is in safe-ty, and ht-tle John was at once 
a French school. He on-ly stayed for a-bout a 
d went back home with his fa-ther in the spring. 
[• three months he was with his moth-er, and then 
3m-ber he and some oth-er boys who were placed in 
ler's care, all start-ed for France, where they were 
Lt in a good school. 

s trip was hard-er than the oth-er one, for the big 
>en-si-ble, " sprang a leak, and af-ter some days of 
T-il, they were glad to go to the near-est land, which 
lin ; and now there was a long, hard trip by land 
France could be reached. They had sailed on Nov. 
79, and it was not un-til Feb. 5th, 1780, that the 
ir-ty reached Par-is. 

two years now our lit-tle lad was hard at work 
5 books in Par-is ; then his fa-ther was sent to the 
-lands as A-mer-i-can Min-is-ter, and he took his lit-tle 
re and placed him in a school in Am-ster-dam ; from 
) went to the U-ni-ver-si-ty at Ley-den, where he 
m-til Ju-ly, 1781. 

was now on-ly four-teen years old ; but you see he 
m in so ma-ny lands, that he could speak as the 
d in those strange lands, and this was a rare thing 
) days. In 1781 Fran-cis Da-na, then the A-mer-i- 
i-is-ter to Rus-sia, need-ing some one to help him in 
k, sent to Ley-den for this young boy. They passed 
1 Ger-ma-ny on the way to Rus-sia, and here John 
' learned some-thing of an-oth-er new land. Then, 
year in Rus-sia, he left Mr. Da-na and stud-ied for 
in Swe-den. The next spring he went to his fa-ther 
[and, and then went to Par-is with him, and was 



JOHjS- QUmCY ADAMS. 

s-ent when the trea-ty of peace be-tween Eng-land i 
ner-i-ca end-ed the War of In-de-pend-ence. 

For two years more he stud-ied a-broad, and then sa 

home in May, 1783. He at once en-tered the jun 
3S at Har-vard Col-lege and grad-u-a-ted with nexi 
! high-est hon-ors in 1787. Then he took up law, as 
3her had done, and be-gan to prac-tise in Bos-ton. 
.de few friends ; folks did not love him as they ' 
her Madi-son or Mon-roe, but he was al-ways knowi 
a man of great pow-er, and of great learn-ing; 
ow-ing so much of other lands, he was just the mar 
sent as A-mer-i-can Min-is-ter to these coun-tries. 

In 1791 Wash-ing-ton sent him to Hol-land, and in ] 
was sent to Ber-lin. 

When, in 1801, Ad-ams came back home, it was to ; 
V hon-ors wait-ing for him. He was sent first to 
ite Sen-ate and then to Con-gress. You see the steps 
ich our Pres-i-dents rose to pow-er were much the s^ 
ev-er-y case. A du-ty well done in a small place le( 
ne-thing a lit-tle high-er, and so on to the great-est ho: 
all — the Pres-i-dent\s chair. 

The State of Mas-sa-chu-setts was ver-y proud of J 
in-cy A-dams ; not only was he a great states-man and 
1 of the man whom they all loved, but he was, as ^ 
ine schol-ar, and a bril-liant speak-er. In 1809 he 
it a-broad a-gain for his coun-try ; this time to Eus 
lere he had not been since he was a boy of four-teen 
L5 he was sent to France, but he was here on-ly a 
)nths, when war broke out in France, and all the r 
;ers from oth-er coun-tries were called a-way ; he wen 
ce to Eng-land, and here he had a much more plea^ 
le than his father had when he went there as the 1 



LIVES OF THE PEESIDENTS. 

lean min-is-ter ; the U-nit-ed States was now knowi 
Lg strong conn-try, and no one dared to be rude to he 
-ter. In 1817 his own land felt the need of the grea 
i^ho had served her so well a-broad, and he was calle( 
to be-come Sec-re-ta-ry of State. No man was so we] 
for this post as he ; for there were ma-ny men fron 
nds a-cross the sea, now com-ing and go-ing in th^ 
al of the U-nit-ed States, to talk o-ver great ques-tions 
were new states com-ing in-to the Un-i-on ; and oth-e 
were al-ways try-ing to gain a lit-tle pow-er here ; s< 
Quin-cy Ad-ams, who not on-ly was a great schol-ai 
fine law-yer, but al-so knew well so ma-ny lands be 
lis own, was just the man to help Pres-i-dent Mon-rO' 
^h his eight years of work. 

e al-so was the man best suit-ed for the Pres-i-dent' 
at the end of Mon-roe's term of of-flce. Not onc€ 
Ad-ams was in Wash-ing-ton work-ing hard, did h 
^ his old fa-ther, watch-ing, in his home at Quin-cy, th 
Life of his great son. Once ev-er-y year he went t« 
i-et old home, and told his fa-ther of the life in Wash 
a, in which the old-er man had once held so great j 

t the age of six-ty-eight, Ad-ams went back to hi 
in Quin-cy, but in 1880 once more he was sent to Con 
and for six-teen years he kept his seat there ; he gre^^ 
d gray serv-ing his na-tive land ; he made bit-ter en-e 
but ma-ny warm friends ; he feared no one, and hi 
was al-ways for the f ree-dom of this great land. Oi 
m-ber 19th, 1846, he had a stroke of par-al-y-sis whil 
ng in Bos-ton ; but three months later we saw hin 
. in Wash-ing-ton, and tak-ing his old seat in Con-gres^ 
i gray old man came feeb-ly in-to the hall, ev-er-y mai 



JOHIS^ QUINCY ADAMS. 

3S-ent rose to his feet, and so stood un-til he took his ^ 
) was too weak now to talk, and on-ly once more die 
r to speak his mind on one of the gijeat ques-tions of 
5^. This was on Feb-ru-a-ry 21st, 1848. He rose to sp' 
t fell in-to the arms of a man near him ; at once t 
)k him in-to a cloak-room, and sent for his wife. For 
ys did he lay there, and then, on the morn-ing of Fel 
y 23d, his great sonl took its flight. His last words W' 
'his is the last of hfe, and I am con-tent." 



LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. 



AN-DREW JACK-SON. 

?HE boy who was to be our sev-enth Pres-i-dent did n 
jhe sort of life, as boy or man, that the oth-er Pres 
; did. He was the son of a poor I-rish-man who can 
from Ire-land in 1765. He was born on March 15t 
in a small place in South Car-o-li-na, called the Wa 
Set-tle-ments. Poor and mean was the log house 
ti he first saw the light, and when his fa-ther die 
ti was when An-drew was a wee baby, the life of tl 

home was hard-er yet. His moth-er was a bra^ 
wo-man, and so well did she do her hard part in li 
she was loved by all who knew her, and was kno\^ 
ad near as " Aunt Betty." 

Andrew was a great care to her when a boy, for, full 
nd fun, he did not care for books, and was at the hei 
I sorts of wild sport. He was ev-er read-y for a fig" 
boys who made him an-gry ; the small boys looked 
for help in any strife with boys big-ger than they ; ai 
rong was he, or read-y to knock a boy down for a re 
an-cied wrong, that they soon found it best to give hi 
wn way, and let him take his place as lead-er a-moi 

; when he was at the head all went well. 
3e was just nine years old when the Dec-la-ra-tion 
-pend-ence was signed, and then came four years 
with Eng-land. In 1780 this war was car-ried into tl 
tl, and on May 29th a number of Brit-ish sol-diers un-d 
nel Tarle-ton killed and wounded over 200 of the men ai 
from the Wax-haw set-tle-ments. A-mong those wl 




ANDREW JACKSON, 



ANDREW JACKSON. 

lelped to care for the hurt and dy-ing men were Mrs. 
on and her boys. An-drew was on-ly four-teen when ] 
n-to the hands of the Brit-ish, and he, with o-ver one 
[red sick and dy-ing men, was kept for days in a dir-t 
^ith no beds, ht-tle to eat and on-ly stale wa-ter to ( 
'o make things worse, small-pox broke out and An 
^as one of those who had it. His brave moth-er w 
ast a-ble to free him, and it was ow-ing to her lov-in^ 
hat he did not die at this aw-ful time. 

Af-ter he was well e-nough to be left, his moth-er. 
^as ver-y sor-ry for the poor A-mer-ican sol-diers, W€ 
yharles-ton to take care of those who were sick and w 
d here. Just as she had be-gun her no-ble work sh( 
a-ken sick and died. 

Soon af-ter her death came the good news of peace 
LOW young An-drew be-gan to pay some heed to his I 
nth the hope of stud-y-ing law. He al-so taught schc 
, while, though he could not have been a ver-y good 1 
r, for he nev-er learned how to spell ver-y well hiu 
itill, in 1787, we find he has learned e-nough to take i 
•rac-tice of law, and he be-gan this work in Nash-ville 
les-see ; and now we see the boy who had been the It 
a boy-ish sports, games and fights, be-come at o: 
3ad-er a-mong men. He was tall and quite good looj 
^ith bright blue eyes and red-dish hair, and he w^as fi 
un and life ; he rode horse-back well, and knew he 
hoot straight ; and a-bove all he was a brave man, a-f rj 
.oth-ing. 

In 1788 he was giv-en a place in which he had t 
or the State all men who had done wrong and it ne^ 
1 those wild days and in that new land, a brave ma 
uch a work, for he would make ma-ny foes, both a-i 



LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. 

. white men and the In-di-ans. His work took him 
[ash-ville to Jones-bor-ough, and here the In-di-ans 
n^-j strong and ver-y cru-el, kill-ing and rob-bing the 
aen and wo-men, and e-ven the lit-tle ba-bies in their 
^s' arms. Hear-ing and see-ing day by day more and 
f this sav-age war-fare, al-ways in dan-ger of be-ing 
)y night or day by some In-di-an hid-ing be-hind a 

house, Jack-son learned to know the In-di-ans and 
lb-its bet-ter than most men did, so was read-y to 
.em in their own way in a few years. 

made his home in Nash-ville and built up a good 
LC-tice. He grew in pow-er so fast that in 1797 he 
nt as the first man from Ten-nes-see to Con-gress. 
it all the way from his home to Phil-a-del-phi-a, a dis- 
if 800 miles, on horse-back. In 1798 we see him 
it home as Judge of the Su-preme Court, and here 
ed un-til 1804. Then came four-teen years of peace 
land, and a hap-py home life for him. A-mong 
hings which Jack-son did at this time was to build 
log store in which he kept all sorts of things which 
e white men and the In-di-ans want-ed. His home, 
was called "The Her-mit-age," was a fine house for 
ays, and in later years it grew as well known as 
•-non and Mon-ti-cel-lo. Jack-son was all through 
a man Avho would stand up for his own way, if it 
trife with his best friend, and more than once he 
du-els to the death. In Con-gress he would, when he 
speak, some-times choke with blind rage if he could 
ke his point and force men to yield to him. 
ter years of peace came the War of 1812, and from 
ur Jack-son's name was first in the minds of men. 
wed great skill in his fights with the red men, and 



ANDREW JACKSOK 

*^on much fame in a fierce fight with the Creeks, ; 
ribe of In-di-ans in Al-a-ba-ma. 

He could force men to do as he said ; the young n: 
tiat day looked up-on him with awe and fear, but t\ 
3 fill his ranks and serve un-der him. 

In 1815 he won the day at New Or-le-ans, and pu 
►rit-ish troops to flight with great loss of life. At th( 
f the war, back home went Jack-son for the rest of "v 
e stood in sore need ; but, in 1818, strife with the S 
ole In-di-ans in Flor-i-da came up, and Jack-son was 
lere. 

At this time Spain owned Flor-i-da, audit was both i 
h troops and In-di-an foes that Jack-son had to meet, b 
^on his way) and at last made Spain yield her rights in 
da and sign a peace. In 1823 she sold Flor-i-da to r 
5,000,000 ; not such a great sum when we think wl 
ch and great place this " Land of Flow-ers " is. Jaa 
^as now put at the head of things in Flor-i-da, anc 
ard-est part of his work was to keep peace in the 
ibe of Sem-i-nole In-di-ans. With their chief Os-ce-o 
leir head they would creep out from the woods 
^amps of Flor-i-da, rush on the homes of the white 
tid burn them to the ground, and then dash back t 
oods, where they could safe-ly hide. At the end of 
3ars Jack-son was glad to go home to the Her-mit 
3re he and his wife led a qui-et life and kept up ma-i 
le ways of their young days, though now they were < 
ch. Af-ter din-ner, they would sit, one on each side c 
reat big wood fire, in the large hall, and smoke thei: 
[pes, with the long stems, just as they had in theii 
ib-in of long a-go. But the great gen-er-al could not 
lis qui-et life long ; in 1823 he was sent to Con-gress ; 



LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. 

e met with high hon-or. On New Year's Day, 1824, 
eat men of the day gave him the pock-et tel-e-scope 
Vash-ing-ton had owned ; a year from the day on 
the Bat-tie of New Or-le-ans was fought, John Quin-cy 
s gave him a great feast, at which were men, whc 
igh rank here and in oth-er lands ; and on the day 
3 was fif-ty-sev-en years old, Pres-i-dent Mon-roe gave 
gold badge for his brave acts in his fights for his 
i-y. In 1828 this rough, but brave and kind, old man, 
ade pres-i-dent ; and now he stood up for his owr 
list as he had in the wars of his land, and when he 
it a boy. His first act was to stop some states in the 
from leav-ing the Un-ion. John C. Cal-houn was a1 
sad of a band of men, who felt that the North had 
•ights than the South ; had more than its share oJ 
L and land ; so rose the wish to set up a rule just foi 
uth. "But," said Jack-son, "if one state goes oul 
; will ; and our great land will be a ru-in." So he 
d this plan, just in time. 

a the years that Jack-son was pres-i-dent, our greai 
gained in strength ; new rail-roads were built ; anc 
^eam-boats ; the land grew rich year by year. 
. 1824 the slaves in Mex-i-co were set free, and Tex-as 
n-to the Un-ion. 

1 the whole. Jack-son's term was a good one for th( 
and so well did tlie peo-ple like him, that he is th( 
pres-i-dent of whom it has been said that he wa^ 
liked when he went out of of-fice than when h( 
n. 

le last years of his life were spent at " The Her-mit 
vhere he died on June 8th, 1845. 



THE LIFE OF MARTIX VAN BUREN. 



THE LIFE OF MAR-TIN VAN BU-REK 

The place in which Mar-tin Van Bu-ren was born 
r from the homes of the oth-er boys who be-came 
^es-i-dents ; and his hf e, as a boy, was not one bit hke tl 
is fa-ther and m oth-er were Dutch ; Hoes was his mot] 
leer name ; and the name of the small town, in whic 
e-cem-ber 5th, 1782, he was born, was Dutch too — Kii 
3ok ; the lit-tle town was on the Hud-son Riv-er, wa 
L New York state. His fa-ther kept a good inn, and 
small farm ; so he could send Mar-tin to good sch 
;ar-tin was so quick and bright at his books that he to( 
le study of law when he was four-teen ; and at tw6 
le he was a law-yer and at work in Kin-der-hook. 
as a man who made friends with great ease ; and s 
as a good law-yer as well, his state soon saw that he 
le man to speak for it at Wash-ing-ton. So in 18< 
as sent to Con-gress ; then in 1828 he was made go^ 
r of New York state ; and this was a big step towarc 
f es-i-dent's chair ; he was sec-re-tary of state when Jacl 
^as pres-i-dent ; and in 1837 he took the oath of ol 
nd be-came pres-i-dent. 

He was in of-fice on-ly one term ; and those four ] 
'ere hard ones for him. 

Just at this time the men in Can-a-da tried to b( 
:'om Eng-land, and have home-rule ; and some of our 
)ok sides with them ; this made Eng-land an-gry of coi 
nd if Van Bu-ren had not put a stop to such thing 



LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. 

[ have had war once more ; but he said all who triec 
e aid to Can-a-da should be sent to jail ; and so th( 
: war was put down. 

t the end of Van Bu-ren's first term some want-ec 
) take the chair a-gain ; but more want-ed Gen-er-a 
-son, who had made a great name in the In-di-an wars 
ki-ren was rich, and Har-ri-son was poor ; and thi^ 
)r the pres-i-dent's chair was called the " Log Cab-ir 
5t the White House." Af-ter Har-ri-son took the-chair 
►u-ren went back to his home at Kin-der-hook, when 
)d in qui-et, until, in 1848, he was once more put uj 
3S-i-dent ; but James K. Polk had more votes than he 
> won the e-lec-tion. 

853 Van Bu-ren and his son went to Eu-rope, when 
bayed two years. He spent the rest of his life at hi^ 
me, where he died on Ju-ly 24th, 1862. 




MARTIN VAN BUREN. 




WILLIAM H. HARRISON. 



WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 



. WIL-LIAM HEN-RY HAR-ELSOK 

WiL-LiAM Hen-ry Har-ri-son was born in Berke-ly, 
in-i-a, on Feb-ru-a-ry 9th, 1773; his fath-er, Ben-jg 
[ar-ri-son, was not a ricli man, but hved at ease on a ^ 
irm ; he was a man of much force in his state, anc 
b one time its gov-ern-or. He was a brave, strong 
nd taught his small son to be like him ; now while '. 
ril-liam was hard at work at school, he heard much 
f the In-di-an wars ; and his heart was full of long-i 
ght these cru-el foes of the white men. 

So, though he went to Hamp-den Syd-ney Col-lege, t 
ot stay long, but left to join the ar-my. He was si 
rave fight-er that, when he was twen-ty-one. Wash-in 
ut him in charge of the troops at Fort Wash-ing-ton 
tie place where the In-di-ans were strong-est and 
ru-el. 

Ma-jor Gen-er-al Wayne was at the head of the a 
nd so rash and fear-less was he, that his troops callec 
Mad An-tho-ny." He knew well how to fight the red 
hough, and in 1794 beat them in a fierce fight, on th( 
^here the cit-y of De-troit now stands. So brave 
oung Har-ri-son at this time, that he was made a cap 
or six years Har-ri-son was in the heat of the In 
iTars; and learned all the sav-age ways of war; th( 
i^ent home to rest, but was soon sent to Congress. S( 
id he do his work here, that In-di-an-a now chose hi: 
;ov-ern-or ; and here he was so much liked that he ke 



LIVES OF THE PEESIDENTS. 

hree terms ; the hard-est task that he had to do whil 
'n-or was to keep peace with the In-di-ans ; and sid 
le with his name, stands that of a great and goo^ 
.n chief Te-cum-seh ; for years these two men tried t 
he In-di-ans and teach them to hve in peace ; but a 
le hate of the red men for the whites who were for( 
lem from their lands, end-ed in a great fight at Tij 
loe, where the In-di-ans lost the bat-tie. So brave ha< 
L-son been in this fight, that he was made a gen-er-al 
L the War of 1812 was put at the head of the ar-m^ 
3 close of the war, the brave old In-di-an fight-er wen 
) on his farm at South Bend, In-di-an-a, in the thei 
)f 0-hi-o ; but he was too great a man to live a qui-e 
ad was sent to Con-gress twice and once a-broad ii 
Lin-try's serv-ice. Then in 1836, he ran for Pres-i-deni 
id not get the most votes ; four years la-ter he wa 
p once more, and he and John Ty-ler won by a bi^ 
It was in this race for Pres-i-dent, that the song wa 
whose cho-rus you hear to-day : " Tip-pe-ca-noe an( 
, too." 

the 4th of March, 1841, Wil-liam Hen-ry Har-ri-son 
d In-di-an fight-er, now six-ty-eight years old, cam^ 
years of qui-et home life, to take up the cares an( 
es of a pres-i-dent's life, but the task was too mucl 
m, and a month af-ter-ward, on A-pril 4th, 1841, th^ 
old man died. 



JOHN TYLER. 



JOHN TYLER 

As a boy, the life of John Ty-ler was much the 
5 that of the boys of to-day. He was born on Mai-ch 
r90, in Charles Cit-y, Vir-gin-i-a, at a time when the ^ 
.nd was at peace. No talk of the red men came t 
3ung: ears ; and no fear fell like a dark cloud over th( 
id play of his boy-hood. He was the son of a man 
ad for friends the great men of his day ;— Wash-in, 
id Ben-ja-min Har-ri-son were warm, close friends o 
3hn Ty-ler ; and he was at one time Gov-ern-or of 
n-i-a. Young John was sent to school when he was a ■ 
aall boy ; and, though he was fond of sports and ga 
3 kept hard at work at his books and won a high pla 
hool. He was a mere boy when he could en-ter Wil- 
id Ma-ry Col-lege ; and he left in 1806 at the head oJ 
ass. He at once took up law with his fa-ther, and 
LOwed the good stuff of which he was made. Clear 
lick was his mind, swift to think and feel ; and his w 
me as fast as his thoughts. He rose with great, q 
rides towards the first place in the land. In 1825 he 
ade Gov-ern-or of Vir-gin-i-a ; and in 1827, was sent to 
ess, where he kept his seat for six years ; these were y 
strife as to the slave trade, and there were fierce, ] 
)rds and harsh thoughts be-tween the men of the N 
ose of the South. Ty-ler was at home for a few yeai 
?he left Con-gress, and took a high place as a law-yer. 
36 he was put up with Har-ri-son in the race for the i 



LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. 

t's chair. But it was not till 1840 that he won tt 
) ; then, as the vice-pres-i-dent had not a great deal 
V-ler went home to Wil-liams-burg. It was here th 
ad news of Har-ri-son's death was brought to him, ai 
; once went on to Wash-ing-ton. Here he found he hj 
xl task ; for he and his Con-gress did not think t] 
) on the great ques-tions of the day and were ev-er 
). One of his first acts was to put down a state war 
lou-ri. A Mor-mon, by the name of Smith, and a bai 
311 who thought as he did went down there to live ; f ol" 
) did not like this and tried to drive them out of tl 
, but this was a hard thing to do, for there were a-bo 

Mor-mons. At last, Ty-ler sent troops there to p 

1 the strife, and the Mor-mons were sent to Il-li-no 
were here but a short time when the same old stri 

e, and then they fled to the lands in the far west — whe 
are to-day, in the state of Utah. War broke out 
IS while Ty-ler was in the chair, and af-ter fierce figh 
^een the Tex-ans and Mex-i-cans the Tex-ans won, ai 
at the head of the state. They asked at once to con 
the Un-ion, and in 1845 this great state came in. In tl 
^ear of Ty-ler's rule Sam-u-el F. B. Morse found out ho 
id words in just a flash of time through miles and mil 
ace ; and you chil-dren know well that the fine wi 
ched from one great pole to the next on which tl 
^ news was sent was called the " tel-e-graph." 
it the end of Ty-ler's first term, James Knox Polk hi 
aost votes, and so took the pres-i-dent's chair ; and th 
> was the first that was sent o-ver the tel-e-graph wir( 




JOHN TYLER. 



r^;X-. 





JAMES K. POLK. 



JAMES KNOX POLK. 



JAMES KNOX POLK. 

As a boy James Knox Polk led a life that would ; 
I good ma-ny of the boys of to-day. He was born in '. 
en-burg County, North Car-o-li-na, on No-vem-ber 2d, 
)ut in 1806 his fa-ther went to Duck Farm, Ten-nes-se 
it-tie James, e-lev-en years old, was of much help i 
lew home. Where the day's work took the big, stro: 
.her, there went the small son ; if there was a long r 
^et food or clothes from some big town, lit-tle James 
lelp care for the hors-es and when his fa-ther and 
nen, for weeks at a time, were in the great, wild ^ 
lunt-ing, mak-ing new roads, or helping each 
)uild the log cab-ins, which were the homes of 
)ar-ly set-tiers, James would be there too, cook-ing 
md keep-ing the camp neat and bright for the mei 
3ame back tired and hun-gry at night. 

So years passed by with much work in the o-p< 
md lit-tle of stud-y or books ; but when James was 
;een years old it was time that he should earn mon-e 

He was not a big, strong boy ; he could not stand i 
lard work on a farm ; he did not love to hunt ; he h 
^aste for war ; so he was put in a small store, that he : 
earn to man-age a big store when he grew old. 

Here he first saw some books, and his love for 
I- woke ; for weeks and months he worked a-lone Avitl 
30ok or pa-per he could find. 

At last his fa-ther took him from the store an( 



LIVES OF THE PEESIDENTS. 

) school ; he was now eight-een, but he was so quid 
11, so bright and smart, that five years from this time 
, the U-ni-ver-si-ty of North Car-o-h-na at the head o] 
.ss. 

hen he came back to Duck Eiv-er, not on-ly was hit 
• proud of his boy, but all Ten-nes-see knew that h( 
le of the bright-est young men in the state, 
ow, just at this time, Gen-er-al Jack-son was fight 
brave-ly a-gainst the In-di-ans and all the boys o: 
js-see were as proud of this great he-ro as the boys oi 
i-i-a had been of Wash-ing-ton. In 1819, when youn^ 
: Polk went to Nash-ville, Ten-nes-see, to take up law 
3 near Jack-son^s home ; and he and the great Gen 
3e-came fast friends. It was ow-ing to Jack-son'^ 
lat, in 1821, Polk, then a bright young law-yer, tool 
st pub-lie step and was sent to the state leg-is-la-ture 
e a-rose so fast in the love and trust of his state thai 
5 sent to Con-gress when on-ly thir-ty years old ; anc 
le stayed for thir-teen years. 

. 1840 he went back to his home at Grun-dy's Hill ir 
^ille, hav-ing made a great name in Wash-ing-ton 
ce did he lose his hold on the great ques-tions of th( 
yen while here at home ; and in 1845 he was chos-er 
lent of the U-nit-ed States. 

'hile he was in of-fice, once more the U-nit-ed States 
: war, and this war is known as the " Mex-i-can War/ 
ise was this : — 

iir peo-ple in Mex-i-co said that a big tract of land dowr 
was theirs ; the Mex-i-cans laid claim to it too ; S( 
'-al Tay-lor went down to see that our rights wer( 
[ af-ter. 
1 the first fight he won, and lost but nine men ; ther 



JAMES KXOX POLK. 

hie laid siege to their great cit-y of Mon-te-rey, and a 
[lard fight took the town. 

That same year Gen-er-al Scott took the cit-y of 
Jruz ; on Sep-tem-ber 14th, 1847, tlie A-mer-i-can troop 
the cit-y of Mex-i-co, and the long war was at an end. 

In 1848 came the news of great gold mines in Ca 
rii-a ; and men went in such num-bers to this stat( 
the "Gold Fe-ver of 1849 " is a well known term to-dg 

While Polk was in the chair, three new states 
in ; and two of them were free states ; that is, no 
30uld be kept there ; just at this time some men for 
band, and said that no slaves should be kept in an- 
^tate which the U-nit-ed States should gain. 

In 1849 Polk went home to Nash-ville, Ten-nes-S( 
was on-ly flf-ty-eight years old ; but was so worn ou 
^ears of work that he lived but a few months af-i 
^ot home ; he died on the 15th of June, in the same ] 



LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. 



ZACH-A-EY TAY-LOR. 

.CH-A-RY Tay-lor was born in Vir-gin-i-a, on No-vem 
;h, 1784 ; but when he was a smaU boy his fa-thei 

hve in Ken-tuck-y ; and long af-ter the rest of the 
^as at peace this state was the scene of such fierce 
with the In-di-ans that it was known as " The dari 
ood-y ground." It is not strange that this boy, whc 
.t a time when wo-men as weU as men had to kno^^ 
) load and fire guns, so that they could help to keei 

1 men from their homes, should have grown up to b( 
e, strong man. 

5 a boy he went to good schools, but cared far more 
) tales of war which his brave fa-ther told him thar 
for his books ; he did love books which told of greal 
and brave men, and read all that he could get. Wher 
5 just of age he went to war, in place of a friend, anc 
> brave and fear-less that he soon took a high place, 
e was in the great fight of Tip-pe-ca-noe ; and al 
^h the War of 1812 he showed great skill in his fights 
he red men ;— well he knew all their tricks and mode^ 
\ He gained great fame in Flor-i-da, when he waj 
lere to make the Sem-i-nole In-di-ans keep the peace 
^ars had this tribe of In-di-ans made war on thewhit( 
their chief, Os-ce-o-la, had, years a-go, gone to one o: 
rts with his wife, who was a slave girl ; he had beei 
chains, and she held at the fort. In his rage, he hac 
to lead his men in war, when he could get to them 
: his chance had come, and he had fled by night fron 




ZACHARY TAYLOR. 




MILLARD FILLMORE, 



ZACHARY TAYLOR. 

;he fort. To rouse his tribe and hurl them at the v^ 
A^as his first thought ; and long and cru-el were the 
ihat went on for years. At last Tay-lor was sent tc 
-da ; and now a trick was played on this great chief ^ 
^n-di-ans ; with a flag of truce, he came to the fort t 
vith the gen-er-al ; and by the or-ders of the gen-er 
vas held there a pris-on-er ; he was sent, at last, t( 
^oul-trie in Charles-ton har-bor, and there, in tho yeai 
le died. With their chief dead, the Sem-i-nole In-di-ar 
10 heart for war ; and soon the few red men left o 
^reat, fierce tribe were put far a-way from each oth 
lew states, and there was peace in Flor-i-da. 

Gen-er-al Tay-lor won great fame in the Mex-i-can 
n 1847 he won the fight of Bu-e-na Vis-ta, which took 
>n Wash-ing-ton's birth-day ; and he won too the fig' 
!^a-lo Al-to and Mon-te-rey. On Sep-tem-ber 24th, 184 
roops took the cit-y of Mex-i-co, and the war was bn 
o an end. As Tay-lor went home to Ba-ton Eouge, h 
srith praise, at each place he passed ; folks came in ci 
o see the great he-ro ; cheers filled the air ; fiags were ] 
.nd guns were fired ; he was the i-dol of the land. Hii 
00 were fend of him, for all through the war he had 
:ind and good to them, and shared their hard life. H 
uch a he-ro to the whole land, that it is not strange 
le was named for the next pres-i-dent, and got the 
otes. He took the chair of state in 1849, but the bra^ 
aan came in just at the time when the strife a-bout ^ 
^as at its height ; and the cares of the of-fice were too i 
or him, as they had been for Har-ri-son. On Ju-1} 
850, there was a great time in Wash-ing-ton, in whi( 
ook part ; but his health was too weak to stand this si 
,nd in the midst of his work, on Ju-ly 9th, 1850, the 1 
Id In-di-an fight-er died. 



LIVES OF THE PEESIDEKTS. 



MIL-LARD FILL-MORE. 

N a log ca-bin way out in the western part of Ne^ 
State, deep in the dense, wild woods, was born, o 
-a-ry 7th, 1800, the boy who was to be the thir-teent 
■dent of the U-nit-ed States. His fa-ther had gon 
from Ver-mont, to get a- way from the In-di-ans, wh 
no peace in his old home ; and no house stood near-€ 
four miles to the lit-tle home he had built in the wil 
land ; there was no school ; and if there had bee 
Mil-lard had not much time to go ; for he was ver- 
^, when he was taught to earn mon-ey and help in th 
home. He learned how to make cloth from the sol 
' wool ; and was hard at work, in this way, till he w^ 
;een years old ; then a love of books came to him ; an 
-yer took note of him and gave him such aid that h 
took a high place in the law-stud-ies. When he ^N2 
ty-two, he went to Buf-fa-lo, and taught school, 1 
lay his way, as he went on with the stud-y of lav 
as bright and quick, and, in 1823, he be-gan to prac-tig 
nd soon rose to such a high place in the state bar thg 
ate sent him to Con-gress. Here his work was don 
ill that he was made vice-pres-i-dent, when Tay-lc 
the pres-i-dent's seat ; and on his death be-came prei 

V'hile he was in the chair one of his aids was the gres 
el Web-ster, who looked af-ter the laws of all th 
;. He had been in of-fice but a short time, when 



MILLARD FILLMORE. 

and of men tried to get Cu-ba from Spain ; but they 
3on put down. He was in of -flee one term, and then 
ome to Buf-fa-lo, and took up the prac-tice of law a- 
n 1855 he went to Eu-rope, where he stayed for one ] 
e then came home to lead a qui-et life, full of stud-^ 
is death on March 8th, 1874. 



LIVES OF THE PKESIDEKTS, 



FRANK-LIN PIERCE. 

k BRAVE sol-dier in the War of the Rev-o-lu-tion w 
ja-min Pierce, the fa-ther of the boy who was to be oi 
teenth pres-i-dent ; and it was in the old town of Hil 
iigh, New Hamp-shire, that, on No-vem-ber 22d, 18( 
k-hn Pierce was born. The fa-ther was a big stroi 

fond of sports and fun of all kinds and much lik^ 
1 ; he was the chief man in Hills-bor-ough, and was 
ime gov-ern-or of his state. In such a home it is n 

to see that the life of lit-tle Frank-lin would be full 
: and play as well. He was sent to good schools, ai 
just six-teen when he went to Bow-do-in Col-lege. I 
full of fun, and at once took the lead in the col-le; 
but he worked hard at his books too ; in 1824 he le 
!ge, and took up the stud-y of law, and soon be-caii 
)f the bar. He was now at his old home in Hills-b( 
., and folks felt that he was a man of brains and gre 
I ; he was sent to Con-gress, and held high of -flee in I 

while he was still a young man ; and in the Mex-i-c^ 

he showed him-self as brave a man as his fa-ther hi 
. At last, in 1853, he was made pres-i-dent. At tl 
, the strife as to the slave trade was at its heigh 
) states wished to have slaves, while some held 
ig. At last Con-gress made a law that all new stat 
Id do as they pleased. The first '' World's Fair " w. 




FRANKLIN PIERCE. 




JAMES BUCHANAN 



FRANKLIN PIERCE. 



eld in New York, just at this time, in a great hall m^ 
lass, which was known as " The Crys-tal Pal-ace." 

Pierce was in of-fice one term ; at the end of that 
e went back home to Con-cord, Mas-sa-chu-setts, whe 
ved a qui-et life im-til his death, on Oc-to-ber 8th, 186 



LIVES OF THE PKESIDENTS. 



JAMES BU-CHAN-AN. 

I STRONG, brave, young man from Ire-land was tl 
3r of our fif-teenth pres-i-dent. He had come here : 
and bought a small farm in Penn-syl-va-ni-a ; so w( 
e do that he soon bought a store as well ; and whe 
pril 23d, 1791, at Cove Gap, lit-tle James was born, h 
)r was quite a rich man. He sent his son to the be 
lis and he was just six-teen years old when he went 
in-son col-lege. Here he took first place with ease. ] 
when he left col-lege, he be-gan the stud-y of law. ] 
iar of 1812 he served in the ar-my ; and at the close ^ 
^ar his state chose him to help make her laws. I: 
I young man when his state sent him to Wash-ing-tc 
e he held his place in Con-gress for ten years. In 18e 
:is sent to Eus-sia to look out for our rights there ; ar 
53 he held the same post in Eng-land. You see, he ro: 
,0 the first place in the land, for in 1857 he was ma( 
-dent» While he was in the chair of state, the Prin* 
ales came here for the first time, and this shows th; 
and felt we were now one of the big coun-tries of tl 
1, and that she must treat us as such, 
t was while Bu-chan-an was pres-i-dent that Oy-rus T 
laid the first wire un-der the 0-cean, by which wor( 
. be sent from this new land to those old lands on tl 
r side. The talk a-bout slav-er-y was so fierce at th 
that a fight in which brave lives were lost took plac 
the name which shines out bright is that of Jol 



JAMES BUCHANAN. 

Jrown of Kan-sa^. He was a friend of the black mei 
3ok their part. He struck the first blow in their cav 
he fort at Har-per's Fer-ry, which he held for two 
Ee took all the guns that were there, as he wished to ar: 
lack men and then lead them to the South to flght for 
[•lends, held there as slaves. Of course this was a-g 
he law of the land, and troops were sent to seize this i 
nd good man. His two sons fought with him, and h( 
liem both shot down, but he did not give up till in th( 
f the fight he fell with six wounds. He did not die a 
ime; af-ter this he was hung as one who had f( 
-gainst the law of his land. His last act, as he was c 
mj to the place where he was to be hung, was to l 
t-tle ba-by which a poor slave held up to him as he p^ 

His death was not in vain, for from now on the 
Lon of sla-ver-y was the talk of the whole land, and ir 
outh Car-0"li-na took the lead and said that she woul 
ear the laws of the Un-ion, but would rule her land i: 
wn way. Soon, six more South-ern states said the s 
nd these states which cut loose from the North were ( 
le " Con-fed-er-a-cy ; " at the head as pres-i-dent was Je 
3n Da-vis. 

This was the state of things when Bu-chan-an lef 
hair, and went to his home in Penn-syl-va-ni-a, at a 
ailed Wheat-land. 

In the last year of his life he wrote a book of his 
diich is still in print. He died at his home on June 
368. He was the last of the ''Peace" pres-i-dents, i 
^as A-bra-ham Lin-coln who took his place, and in his 
le strife as to the slave trade led to our '' Civ-il War.' 



LIVES OF THE PEESIDENTS. 



ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 



rnoM-AS LiN-coLN, wlio was the fa-ther of A-bra-hs 
3oln, had seen a sad sight when he was but a boy 
b years ; while he and his brothers were hard at wo 
their fa-ther in the dense, wild woods which gn 
) to their small home in Ken-tuck-y, an In-di-an ch 
b close to them ; he fired one shot, and the boys saw th< 
strong fa-ther fall dead. They were brave boys, a 
e one ran for help, the oth-ers kept at bay the In-di-a 
came from the woods. A band of men soon came 
• aid, and drove the fierce red men back to the woo( 
as a rough, hard life in which Thom-as Lin-coln gr( 

up ; and he could not read 



write when, at twen-ty yea 
he took as his wife Miss Ns 
cy Hanks ; she was a brig 
girl and soon taught him 
least to write his name. 

It was a poor log-house 

Har-din Coun-ty, Ken-tuck 

to which he took his brid 

\ and yet in this home so me 

;> and small, was born, on F( 

ru-a-ry 12th, 1809, the boy w 

was to be pres-i-dent of tl 

Few boys and girls know what it is to 




^^: 



Lincoln's early home 



t land 

)Oor as this lit-tle boy was, or to lead as hard a: 

a life. His clothes were thin and poor, his sho 




ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 



ABEAHAM LINCOLN". 

when he had an-y, were oft-en full of holes; h 
lot al-ways have as much as he would like to ea 
.n the long, hard win-ters he was oft-en ver-y col 
was not an eas-y life, and it was full of hard wor 
peo-ple in this rough place could not read and there w 
schools ; but when he was stiU a young boy his folks i 
bo In-di-an-a, and though there was more work to be 
life was not quite so sad, for he and his sis-ter Nan-c^ 
had a play-mate, their cous-in, Den-nis Hanks, who w 
Df hfe and fun. " Abe," as folks called him, was but 
years old when his par-ents went out into the West 1 
but he was so strong that he could help chop do^^ 
trees of which the new home was made ; then, t 
learned how to shoot the game and wild fowl in t 
woods, and so could bring good things in-to the house 
But a dark time came in his hfe soon, for the kind 
moth-er took sick and died. Her death was a great : 
" Abe," and he felt much grief that there was no one 
a pray-er at her grave ; so he wrote to the min-is-ter 
old home in Ken-tuck-y, and asked him if he would no 
there and bless his moth-er's grave. This good man 
as soon as he could, but it was a long while af-ter hei 
be-fore " Abe " had his wish. That win-ter was lor 
hard for the poor ht-tle boy and girl with no moth-ei 
that they were warm, or that they had good food 1 
but in the faU of 1819, the fa-ther brought home a ne^ 
Mrs. Sal-ly John-son and now at last a ray of brigli 
came to stay with " Abe " and Nan-cy. The new r 
was a good, kind wo-man, and was quite rich for thos 
She soon had the home bright and neat ; she put good 
clothes on " Abe " and Nan-cy ; saw that they had t 
eat and at once sent them to school. 



LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. 

be " was now e-lev-en years old, tall and big, and c 
strength than most boys of his age. His f a-ther hire 
ut for all sorts of work ; to pitch hay, to chop wooc 
p on the farm ; no work was too hard for this bi^ 
5 boy ; but, with all this work, he kept at his book 
Late at night, while all the rest slept, he would stud- 
3oks ; and as books were few he read them ma-n 
o-ver ; one of the books he loved the most was th 
of Wash-ing-ton." 

[e was a young man, for it was in March, 1828, tha 
Qce came to him to see more of life ;* he was hired t 
I boat filled with skins down the Mis-sis-sip-pi Riv-e 
w Or-le-ans ; he did this work well, and when he cam 
^as paid a good price for it. He was just of age whe 
Iks went to Il-li-nois to live ; and now he helped buil 
le, cleared a big field in which it stood, split rails t 
it in, and then went off to make his own way in lif 
'he first thing he did was to help build a flat-boat an 
bake it down to New Or-le-ans ; when he came bac 
lan who owned the boat gave him a place in his stoi 
w Sa-lem ; and now he had a good chance to get boot 
id ; and you may be sure he was glad of this. H 
;oon known in the place as a bright young man, an 
^ho would not lie, or steal, or do an-y mean thing ; 1: 
uU of fun and jokes, and the folks in the town wei 
nd of him ; he was caUed " Hon-est Abe." When tl 
ck Hawk War " broke out he went at the head of 
. band of men to the seat of war ; he was in no grej 
but learned much of war and how to rule tt 
1 men who were in his care. 

len he came home he was felt to be one of the fir 
in the town, and in 1834 he took a high place in tl 



ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 

state. He now took up the stud-y of law, and was ^ 
ac-tive prac-tise ; he had a good, kind heart, and did 
good to those who were too poor to pay him. In ] 
was sent to Con-gress ; this time he was there but on 
then came back to Spring-field, Il-li-nois, and built uj 
law prac-tise. His name was now known through ; 
great land ; and in the slave strife he was al-ways 
side of the slaves. He spoke so of t-en for the slaves 
1860, the South said if he was put up for pres-i-dent, 
North and West, they would leave the Union. But '. 
just the man to fill this high office at this time ; an( 
had the most votes he took the of -flee of Pres-i-dent i 
There is a sto-ry told of these days, which shows th 
coin, when a great man, had no shame for the day.^ 
he was poor. Old John Hanks, who had helped hin 
that rail fence so long a-go, came to Il-li-nois with 
those rails ; and on them was a big card which told 
they came from, and who split them. Lin-coln w^ 
a-bout to make a speech to a big crowd ; and when ' 
these rails he said that he had split them when a b( 
thought he could do bet-ter now. Then shouts and 
went up from the crowd, you may be sure ; and fro: 
time Lin-coln was known in the race for jores-i-dent ai 
Rail Split-ter." 

When he left his home to go to Wash-ing-ton, s 
crowd came to see him off, but he was so sad he coi 
say much to them. There were plots to kill him i 
time, and he knew it ; but he gave no thought to h 
life, and went straight to his post of du-ty as Pres 
It was with a sad heart that he saw this great Ian 
with war ; and he would have been glad to keep pea 
this he could not do. When the South fired at tl 



LIVES OF THE PEESIDENTS. 

) Un-ion at Fort Siim-ter, a cry went up through th 
) land. The South fought for what it cahed " Stat^ 
;S ; " the right of each state to rule in its own waj 
lis Lin-coln would not have. He cared more for th 
n than he did for the slaves ; for, though he though 
3n should be free, he said, if he could save the Un-io] 
I not care if not one slave was made free ; he had n 
to keep the South from its rights ; but, at last, he fe 
;e to send out a bill, which said that all the slav6 
cl be free, and have the same rights as white mei 
land was in no state for war ; much had to be done 
^s and food got for the troops ; and arms as well ha 
made or bought at once. The first great fight was g 
iun in Vir-gin-i-a ; and the loss of life on both side 
^reat ; the North lost from the first ; men who ha 
' been in a fight be-fore went mad with fear and ra 
eir lives. But at the fight at Get-tys-burg the men c 
orth were brave and fought Avith such skill that th 
fight was won by the North. 

.nt was put at the head of the troops who went dow 
e Mis-sis-sip-pi ; and it was not long be-fore he place 
:ars and Stripes over this fair state. The South mad 
^e fight, for what it thought was right and just ; bn 
) war went on, the troops of the South were in a ba 
they could get no food, no clothes, and so ma-n 
lad been shot that in the last years of the war youn 
lad to help fill up the ranks. Now came Sher-man* 
1 to the sea, and he took Sa-van-nah and all its gun 
itores. This was a great blow, and now one by on 
;a-ports of the South fell in-to the hands of the Nortl: 
>t Gen-er-al Lee, a great and good man of the South 
\^ord to Grant that he would come to terms and mak 



ABRAHAM LmCOL:N'. 

)eace. Grant was kind at this hard time ; he let Lee 
Lis sword, and said that the men might keep aU 
lors-es. It was in A-pril, 1865, that peace came t- 
jreat land; and the North went mad with joys; 
)ealed, and fires blazed in the streets; flags were i 
md guns were fired ; but in the South there was nc 
)n-ly great grief. 

From the grief of the South a great crime spran 
he night of A-pril 14th, as Lin-coln sat in a box g 
he-a-tre watch-ing a play he was shot by a man froi 
^outh named Wilkes Booth. When he had shot Ln 
)his man sprang on the stage and tried to run froi 
)lace ; he f eU and broke his leg ; but in this state 1: 
^o the door, where he jumped on his horse and fled t 
ife. He was found at last in a barn, and made s 
3rave fight for his hf e that the barn had to be set o 
3e-f ore he could be caught ; e-ven then he would not 
3ut and give him-self up ; but fought till he was shot 
^here he stood. 

Lin-coln had been shot in the back of his hea 
:30uld not move or speak ; — men took him with car( 
house near by, but there was no help for him ; and ] 
3ar-ly morn of the next day a great life came to a sa 
The whole land, the South as weh as the North, wept 
death ; for no sane man felt that Booth's deed was v 
just ; and to this day the name of A-bra-ham Lin-co 
'' Sav-iour of his Coun-try," is held dear by Nort: 
South. 

5 



LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. 



AN-DEEW JOHN-SON. 

Ln-drew John-son's life as a boy was quite as hard i 
of lit-tle " Abe " Lin-coln. He was born in Ra-leig" 
1 Car-o-li-na, on De-cem-ber 29th, 1808, in a small Ic 
1 ; and near his home were the big farms of the ric 
of the South, on which lived in more ease than he tl 
3, who looked down on his fa-ther and mo-ther i 
[* white trash." 

lis fa-ther died when An-drew was but four years olc 
ust have been a brave man, for he lost his life try-in 
ve a man from drown-ing. Lit-tle An-drew was t( 
to go to school ; he had to try and earn mon-ey, whe 
^s but ten years old ; so he Avas sent to a tail-or to leai 
ike clothes ; here, for five years he worked hard ; an 
he heard a man read ; and for the first time it can 
> mind that he could learn to do this ; he got the me 
3 shop to teach him his " A, B, C ; " and he was so quic 
rn that soon he could read a lit-tle ; but it was not ti 
as wed to a bright young girl that he learned a gre^ 
Df books ; this was when he was eight-een, and he hs 
to Green-ville, Ten-nes-see, to set up in life for hir 

These young folks were both poor, but both brighl 
he wife was a great help to John-son all through h 

He rose fast in his new home ; we see him, from tl 
take the part of the poor ; and he was soon put in hig 
3 in the town ; it was not long ere he rose to a hig 

in the state, and, in 1843, we see the poor lit-tle tail-( 




ANDREW JOHNSON. 



ANDEEW JOHNSOK. 

oy of 1826 in the halls of Con-gress, stand-ing up fo 
ights of the class in which he was born. In 1846 he 
he seat of John Quin-cy Ad-ams, who was too sick to 
b ; does it not seem strange that two men who had li^ 
loys so nn-like should rise to just the same place ? F( 
^ears he was in Wash-ing-ton, where he helped mak 
aws of the land ; then in 1853, he was made gov-ern 
:en-nes-see. When the Civ-il War broke out, he took 
\rith the North, though he was born in the South and 
here ; and when Lin-coln was made pres-i-dent he to( 
lext place as vice-pres-i-dent. 

On Lin-coln's death, he took the pres-i-dent's chair, 
vhole land was now up-set ; in the South the whit( 
lad no work ; and the slaves did not know how to ca 
hem-selves. In the North there was strife as to the 
)n which the South should come back in-to the Un-ior 
)n ma-ny things John-son and his Con-gress did not 
^he same ; so there was strife be-tween them. It ca 
ts height in 1868, when the Sen-ate tried John-sc 
' high crimes and mis-de-mean-ors ; " this means tha 
^ress thought the pres-i-dent did not act for the good 
^and, and should be put out of of -flee ; but the mei 
tried him did not all think the same ; and most of 
said he should keep his place. 

So he was in the chair for four years, and then 
home to E-hz-a-beth-town, Ten-nes-see, where he liv 
his death on Ju-ly 29th, 1875. 



LIVES OF THE PKESIDEJ^TS. 



ULYSSES SIMP-SON GRANT. 

E boy who was to be first a great gen-er-al in tl 
^, and then Pres-i-dent of the U-nit-ed States, was boi 
dnt Pleas-ant, 0-hi-o, A-pril 27th, 1822. As a boy 1 
ot care for books, but was fond of sports and game 
lad a great love for horses ; he was but eight yea: 
hen he put a young colt to a sled, and hauled sticl 
logs from the woods to his home ; and he was bi 
e Avhen he made a trade of a horse he had for a your 
vhich had not been used much ; on his way home 
prang at the colt, which, at once, mad with fear, tri^ 
a a-way ; the boy held fast to his reins, and stopp^ 
3lt just on the edge of a great cliff ; but it was in sue 
:hat it would not move, and the boy for a time kne 
^hat to do. At last he took his hand-ker-chief , tied 
the colt's eyes, and so drove him home. Folks ne^ 
jrant home said there was no horse which your 
-ses could not ride ; he was a boy who had a firm wi 
strong nerves ; and was at the head in all sports ( 
IS ; for young boys soon learn which one of them mui 
the lead. 

did not stand so high in school, but did his tasks wel 
in 1839 he went to West Point. Here he soon ha 
y friends ; and they gave him a name which clung 1 
'or life ; he was called " Uncle Sam," from the U. S. i 
rst two names. At West Point, he read a great de; 
ir, and the men who had done brave deeds for the 




ULYSSES S. GRANT. 



ULYSSES SIMPSOX GRANT. 

onn-try ; and when he left there he was, at heart, ai 
s in name, a sol-dier of his coun-try. He at once toe 
ilace with the troops, who were at war with the In-( 
n. the West ; but his first big fight was at Pa-lo AI 
846. At the close of this war Grant, who had s 
Quch skill, and knew no fear, was sent to the West 
Qore to force the In-di-ans to keep peace. 

He was in Cal-i-for-ni-a while the gold craze was 
leight, to try and make the rough men who came in s 
if gold keep the laws of the land. Then, from 1854, h 
'. few years of peace, and start-ed to tan hides and ski 
5ra-le-na, Il-li-nois ; but his life was ev-er at his cour 
all ; and he was one of the first men to take up ar 
he Civil War. He was made a gen-er-al soon af-te 
v^ar broke out ; and one of his first acts was to blo( 
he streams and roads near his post at Cai-ro, on the 
liver^ so that the South could get no food or arms. ( 
v^as known as a brave fight-er, and oft-en was in the : 
if the fight at the head of his men. At a great loss < 
o his troops, he took two strong forts from the ^ 
•"orts Hen-ry and Don-el-son; and then came that 
ight at Shi-loh ; where the troops of the South wei 
[own, and the North won the day ; Grant was no^ 
lext to the head of the whole ar-my ; and at once tr 
ake the cit-y of Vicks-burg. The siege of this cit- 
lard for those in its walls, and for the troops in front 
or Grant and his men could get no food from the 1 
Lnd the cit-y was quite cut off from help. The cit-y 
L brave stand for two long months ; but had to gi 
it last, and at the end of that time Grant and his 
narched in-to the cit-y ; now this great gen-er-al st 
\^hat a kind heart he had, for he gave food and clot] 



LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. 

►oor men who had fought so long and so well, to sa^ 

town ; and he tried hard, at this time, to think 
I way to bring the war to a close. Grant was not 

man, but he was a just one ; and in his camps, tl 
must live the right sort of lives ; he would not let 1: 
steal food from the farms a-bout them, or rob the po 
in their homes. He Avas a plain man, and his dre 
ed his plain tastes; once, when he had his troo 
;h past him, that he might see how they looked, ] 

such a plain garb that his cap-tains were dress* 
3r than he. He wore no sword, sash, nor belt ; just 
, dark suit, with a soft felt hat on his head, and a pg 
d gloves on his hands ; he was a great smoker, and, 
d, his big plans were all made when his ci-gar was 
Qouth. In 1863, Grant won a great fight at Chat-i 
;a ; and in the fierce fight in the Wil-der-ness, he ai 
3r-al Lee met for the first time. 

ant's next great work was to seize Pe-ters-burg ; ai 
! laid siege to the town ; he dug a huge mine in fro: 
e doomed cit-y, and filled it full of pow-der that wou 
ff when fired with a match; when this great char, 

off, the fort was blown to small bits, and hea 
^ad and dy-ing men lay in the midst of the ru-i: 
the brave men of the South still held the fort, a] 
3 back the troops from the North as they rush^ 
and so well did they fight that Grant and his m( 
to draw back, and leave Pe-ters-burg a-lone for soi 

rhe next time he tried to take the town though, G€ 
Lee, who was in charge, was forced to yield ; and so( 
:'ed, white and blue waved o-ver the South-ern cit- 
. af-ter this, Grant took from Lee all the troops in 1: 



ULYSSEJS !SiMr;SUiM LtKAIM. 



large ; and it was now plain to see that the war ] 

)on end. 

You read in the hfe of Lin-coln, of the terms of j 
hich Grant gave to the great chief of the South ; a 
)ems that these two men, Grant and Lee, had no 
loughts for each other ; for when peace was made, 
look hands, and part-ed friends. Each had done hi^ 
I the cause he thought right. Grant's trip to the I 
iien the war was at an end was a grand one ; cr 
ished to see the man who had saved the Union, and c 
Lid shouts rang to the skies. He was, of course, nam€ 
res-i-dent and a great vote put him in of-fice. 

He was in the pres-ident's seat for two terms ; an( 
le on-ly man since Wash-ing-ton, who was thought ( 
third term ; but this the whole land said no to ; as nc 
[lould be pres-i-dent longer than Wash-ing-ton had 
n Grant's last term, a big fair was held in Phil-a-del- 
alled the '' Cen-ten-ni-al ; " to keep in mind this was the 
ay on which this land was made free. At the e 
Grant's two terms, he took a tour of the world ; a: 
mds made much of the sol-dier pres-i-dent ; rich gifts 
ilaced in his hands ; and at the courts of the old ^ 
:ings and queens were glad to have this plain qui-e1 
uS a guest. 

His last home was in New York ; and here, in 18 
eU sick ; he lost much mon-ey at this time, and w 
ruth, a poor man. But he was, to the last, a brave 
ind in the midst of much pain, he wrote the book of h 
hat when he was dead his wife should have mon-ey 
ts sale. 

He died after eight long months of great pain, ; 
Mc-Greg-or, near Sar-a-to-ga ; on July 23d, 1885, his hoc 



LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. 

:ate in New York for some days, and crowds from 
near came to view tliis great man for the last time. 
He was laid to rest Au-gnst 8th, 1885, at Riv-er-side Pa 
r York Cit-y ; and the white mar-ble tomb that ma: 
spot is a gift to the great dead, from the land he ser 
rell. 



RUTHERFORD B. HAYES. 



RUTH-EE-FORD B. HAYES. 

RuTH-ER-FORD B. Hayes was borii ill Del-a-ware, 
c-to-ber 4th, 1822 ; such a strong, ro-sy Ht-tle boy wa 
lat he had the pet name of " Rucl-dy ; " his fa-ther t 
g farm and a store as weU, so he was quite rich, an 
e Rud-dy grew up in a bright and hap-py home. He ( 
: a race of brave men, who had fought and died foi 
dr land in the wars of the Rev-o-lu-tion and of 1812 ; 
3 grew up as brave as tliey. He and his ht-tle sis-ter 
Y went when young to a small school near their home ; 
le good, wise moth-er helped them with their books at h 
uth-er-ford worked hard at school, and went when i 
3ung to the high school, where he soon stood at the 
: his class. He was six-teen when he went to Ken-yor 
ge, Ohio. Now, though he was so good at his book 
•ved sport and fun as well ; and he was so strong, th; 
)uld walk miles on the cold-est of days, and yet get no : 
nee he walked all the way from col-lege to his home 
?ick, when the snow lay deep on the ground, and this 
)r-ty miles ; he could swim and skate, and knew he 
3h and hunt ; the boys at col-lege all liked him ; he 
osts of friends, and the strong, brave will that kept hi 
le head in games and sports put him first in his clas.^ 
;e left col-lege in 1842, and took up the stud-y of la 
;ar-vard Col-lege ; in 1846, he was made one of the bar 
)ok up prac-tise of law in Cin-cin-nat-i. When the < 
Jar broke out, he, as cap-tain of a band of men fror 
ome, did brave^ good work. Once he was shot and f < 



LIV^ES OF THE PRESIDENTS. 

ground; blithe did not give up ; he told his men Vs 
lo as he lay there in great pain, and kept up till some 
ae to take his place as lead-er. At the end of the ^ 
was a gen-er-al ; and was much loved by his men. 
3 sent to Con-gress by his state ; and then made its ^ 
-or for three terms. In 1876, he was made pres-i-d( 
ugh some thought by a fraud in the count ; and 
TL-o-crats said that their man, Sam-u-el J. Til-( 
•uld have been pres-i-dent. While Hayes was at the W 
use, there was a great la-bor strike, from the East to 
^st, on all the rail-roads. The heads of the roads said 1 
y would not pay the men, in their hire, as much as t 
1 done ; and so, all the men left their work and no tn 
lid run, for the men came in great mobs to sto]) th( 
ast, they rose in arms, and then the troops were sent 
'orce them to keep the peace ; nine men were killed, 
le of the rest were bad-ly hurt. But the men did 
e up for a long time ; they held Pitts-burg for two d; 
I burned cars and the grain kept in them. 
)f course, in the end, the law had to be o-beyed and 
bs were made to come to terms, and lay down t" 
as. 

There was a war with the In-di-ans while Hayes 
the chair ; but this was put down by Gen-er-al How-g 
1 after some fierce fights, the chiefs w^ere caught 
md to keep the peace. There was a change made in 
y of life at the White House while Hayes was there, 
wine w^as ever put on the ta-ble for guests or for 
!S-i-dent and his wife ; this was the first time, and so 
) on-ly time, that wine has not had its place at least at 
te meals at the White House. Hayes was in Wash- 
L for one term and then went to his home in Mas-sil- 
li-o. He died on Jan-u-a-ry 17th, 1893. 




RUTHERFORD B. HAYES, 




JAMES A. GARFIELD. 



JAMES ABRAM GAEPIELD. 



JAMES A-BRAM GAR-FIELD. 

In rough log cab-ins, out in the midst of wild wi 
e have read that six of our pres-i-dents were born : 
v-enth, James A-bram Gar-field, was born in Or-a 
hi-o, on No-vem-ber 19th, 1831. 

His fa-ther had built, with his own hands, their si 
xle home ; and it stood deep in the wild wood, whose i 
ould, at times, catch fire from the sparks thrown i 
e steam en-gines some miles off. Near the Gar-field 1: 
as their field of grain ; one day this caught fire, ar 
ying to save his wheat, the fa-ther of lit-tle James los 
e. It was a hard life to which he left his young 
id the four lit-tle ones ; but she was a brave good wo-r 
e had to work hard of course, and so did the b 
it the moth-er taught them from books as well ; and 1 
imes was but four years old when he went to his 
hool. He was a tough, strong boy, and soon did a 1 
irt of the farm work ; in the long sum-mers he hac 
ost work to do, and then in the win-ters he could ^ 
hool ; he was a brave boy, for the school was miles i 
)me, and his road lay through the deep woods, in w 
lid beasts roamed at will. But he went his way, ai 
) felt fear, did not show it ; he had a great love for be 
id late at night, with the big wood-fire for his ligh 
3uld read o-ver and o-ver his few books. His moth-ei 
ught him to love the Bi-ble, and this Good Book he Is 
3II. But, at last, the time came when he was so old 



LIVES OF THE PEESIDENTS. 

could leave home, and so help the moth-er more tha: 
d done. The first thing he did was to drive mules or 
^vpath of the 0-hi-o Ca-nal ; here he earned |10. 
:)nth, l)ut the'men he met were coarse and rough, 
3 life rude and Vile ; so, with a sad heart, the young 
ish from his good home in the qui-et woods, took ^ 
had made here, and went back to the place he loved. 
IS sick for a long while now ; and as he lay on his 
made up his mind that he would go to col-lege, and 
^ood, use-ful life out in the big world ; that he woulc 
^ brains more than his hands. With this hope in t 
him, he made mon-ey in the sum-mer to pay his we 
lool in win-ter ; and soon knew all that they could t 
d went to Hi-ram Col-lege ; here at first he did all soi 
)rk to pay his way ; rang the bells, swept the fioors, 
ilt the fires ; but he was soon paid to teach in th( 
^e, for he was too bright and quick to do such hard ^ 
ig. In 1854, he went to Wil-liams Col-lege, and le 
e head of his class in 1856. 

From now on he rose fast ; he taught school whei 
't col-lege ; his boys loved the big strong man and 
much in his praise, that men learned to love him 
d in 1859 he was made one of the 0-hi-o Sen-ate, and 
ter sent to Con-gress. Then came the Civ-il Wai 
lich he fought brave-ly ; he won much fame in son 
e great bat-ties, and was made a gen-er-al. He was a w 
)se friend of Lin-coln ; and on the day of Lin-coln's d( 
was Gar-field who spoke such calm, good words to a 
men on Wall Street, New York, that he kept them J 
sh acts at this sad time. At the close of the war, 
ild was in Eu-rope for a short time ; and when he ( 
>me, he was sent to Con-gress, where he kept his sea 



JAMES ABRAM GARFIELD. 

a long time. In 1880 he was named for pres-i-dent, a 
his seat in 1881. But there was a great grief in s 
this land, once more. On July 2d, 1881, just four : 
from the time he took his seat, Gar -field was shot by 
Gui-teau, as he, with James G. Blaine, was on his 
take a train north from Wash-ing-ton. They bore hi 
to the White House, and the man who had done t] 
act was seized. The whole land prayed for Gar-fiel 
but he grew AYorse fast ; and it was thought best at 
take him to Long Branch, where it was cool-er 1 
Wash-ing-ton. But the long, hot months dragged o 
the sick man did not grow well in the cool salt air, aj 
been hoped ; in spite of all care, the pres-i-dent fai 
by day ; and on Sep-tem-ber 19th, 1881, the whole 
heard with sorrow of this good man's death. Th' 
men of the day wept side by side, as Gar-field lay i 
in Wash-ing-ton ; and men of note, in all walks of 1 
his death as a great grief. He now lies at rest ii 
land, 0-hi-o. Gui-teau was hanged for the crime 
done ; and it is but just to say, that some thought 
not in his right mind when he shot Gar-field. 



LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. 



CHESTER ALAN AR-THUR. 

lES-TER Al-an Ar-thur was born in Fair-field, Vei 
on Oc-to-ber 5tli, 1830, and his fath-er liad charge o 
nrcli in tliat place and was one of the first men h 
for the poor slaves. Now, in those days, those goo( 
id not live as well as they do now ; for folks were poo 
small towns ; so this small boy was al-so born in j 
b-in ; bnt he was sent to good schools, and was qnit< 
' when he knew so much that he could go to Un-ioi 
^e. All the time he was here he paid his own way 
hen he left Col-lege he taught school, so that he coul( 
means to go to New York and stud-y law. He wa 
Li law prac-tise, and he and an old school-mate mad^ 
[,me of their firm well known. Ar-thur took the par 
black race, just as his fa-ther had done, and in 1856 
1 a suit which let the ne-groes ride in horse-cars with th< 
5. A slave-girl had been put off a car and Ar-thur tool 
? case and won it. For some years he held high of-fic< 
state of New York and was a gen-er-al in the Civ-i 
he was not in the fights, but saw that the troops ha( 
s and food ; he did this hard task so well that, whei 
u' was at an end, the pres-i-dent gave him the best plac 
\Y York State ; he was made chief of the great port o 
fork and held this post for two terms. 
1 1880 he was made vice-pres-i-dent with Gar-field a 
dent ; and, of course, took the chair when Gar-fieL 
He held this place for one term and then went bad 




CHESTER A. ARTHUR. 



CHESTER ALAN ARTHUR. 

) his home in New York Cit-y, and took up his law ^ 
here was a spUt in his par-ty at the end of his term ; i 
len wished Ar-thur to run once more for pres-i-dent 
Lore wished James G. Blaine of Maine ; so, of co 
laine was named. The Dem-o-crats named Gro-ver C 
,nd ; and as all the men on that side wished this one 
) win, he had the most votes ; and for the first time 
ng while, the Dem-o-crats won in the race for pres-i- 
Two years from the time that Ar-thur came home, 
ght in the midst of his law work, he died in New ' 
It-y ; this was on No-vem-ber 18th, 1886 ; and he was 
> rest in Al-ba-ny. 



LIVES OF THE PEESIDENTS. 



STE-PHEN GRO-VER CLEVELAND. 

The race of brave, strong men from whom Ste 
-ro-ver Cleve-lancl sprang made their first homes he 
[as-sa-cliu-setts, as far back as 1635. His fa-ther 
tiarge of a small church in Cald-well, New Jer-se^ 
ere, in a neat white frame house, which you may S( 
our-selves to-day, was born, on March 18th, 1837, th 
iio was to rise, step by step, to the pres-i-dent's seat. 

He was three 3^ears old when they moved to Fa^ 
Qle, New York, and here he first went to school and 
11 he was twelve years old. He showed a strong wil 
great love for books, as a small boy ; he would ha^ 
^vn way, if he could get it ; and this was why he wa^ 
) a high school, when he was not so old by some yea 
le rest of the boys there ; he gave his fa-ther no re 
e sent him ; and once there he made up his mind to lee 
.ass. 

He was just twelve when his strong will sent h 
ork in a store near his home, so that he could helf 
)r the big f am-i-ly in the small home. The man who 
im, soon saw that, if he was young, he -knew how to 
ell, and that he could trust him ; for two years he W( 
I the store and then went back to his books. 

But, just at this time, his fa-ther died ; and he thei 
) find a way to care for those in great need at home, 
le same pluck that he had shown in the past, he now 
) work in a " Home for the Blind," in New York. Ii 
[g cit-y, the Ijright boy saw and heard much which 



STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 

TL new thoughts^ and put in his heart the wish to m 
5 hfe a great one. At the end of two years in the '' Hoi 
made up his mind to learn law ; and he asked a i 
lom he knew to lend him twen-ty-iivo dol-lars to start 1 
le fact that this man did so shows that he had tru^ 
ung Gro-ver Cleve-land ; he could now start his work, 
jnt to Buf-fa lo to do so. Here he lived for eight years 
3t he helped his un-cle, in the care of a big farm, and 
m-ey he so made was sent to his moth-er. Soon he 
3 chance to stud-y law ; the place where he went was 
les from his un-cle\s home, but back and forth, rai: 
ine, he walked each day. There is told a tale that sh 
vV he loved the books of law ; for, the first day he wei 
LS place, a book was put in his hands to read ; he kej 
for hours, till dark came ; then he found the rest of 
3n had gone home ; all the doors were locked ; an( 
ist stay there all night. 

Such hard work soon made him a man who well k: 
3 law ; and folks gave him big cases that brought 
ich fame. He did not go to the war, when it broke 
' he felt that he could not leave his folks at home witl 
e to care for them. 

He rose fast in his law work ; and more than one g 
se did he win ; he cared far more to take the part of 
or than of the rich ; and at no time in his life did he ] 
' high place or fame ; it came to him though, for he 
it the man to fill a high post well. His name was g 
own in his state and at Wash-ing-ton ; for three year 
IS Sher-iff of E-rie Coun-ty and then he took up his 
^c-tise once more ; but soon he was put at the head of 
-y as its May-or ; and then was made the Gov-ern-or of 
3at state of New York. Here he did good work ; he 



LIVES OF THE PRESIDEXTS. 

1 those who had tak-en bribes, and had not been goc 
men, and he tried to see that the laws were well kej 
saw that he was the right man to fill this high pla( 
le had no fear of what might be thought of him ; ' 
did as he felt right ; and so, while he was still gov-ei 
e Avas named for pres-i-dent by a great vote, and w 
>ed. When he took the oath of of-fice in Wash-ing-tc 
d not kiss the big Bi-ble which oth-er pres-i-dents h 
d, but a lit-tle old book, much worn with use, whi 
Qoth-er had giv-en to him when he first left home. ] 
in the chair four years and while here, he took for 1 
Miss Fran-ces Fol-som ; he was the first pres-i-dent 
in the White House. Cleve-land was pres-i-dent f 
years ; at the end of that time, the Ee-pub-li-cans plac 
ja-min Har-ri-son in the pres-i-dent's chair. 
But, at the end of one term, once more the Dem-o-cr^ 
the day ; and a-gain, in 1893, we see Gro-ver Cleve-la: 
i-dent. 

[n May of 1894, the World's Fair was o-pened ; and f( 
and girls are too young to know some-thing of t 
-ty of the Great White City built on the shores of La 
L-i-gan in Chi-ca-go. In the last years of Cleve-lam 
L, there was much talk of the state of things in Cu-1 
men there wished to be free from Spain, who had rul 
1, with a hard hand, for hun-dreds of years. 
Spain sent down troops of sol-diers ; and harsh la^ 
) made to force the Cu-bans to keep the peace. B 
a would not give up ; and the U-ni-ted States be-gan 
pit-y for this brave lit-tle is-land, try-ing to get free. 
In the midst of the strife, Cleve-land's term of of-f 
e to an end, and he came to New York to live and ta 
:iw a gain. He now has his home in Prince-ton, ]Sr( 
sey, and has a large law prac-tise. 




GROVER CLEVELAND. 




BENJAMIN HARRISON. 



BENJAMIN HARRISON. 



BEN-JA-MIN HAR-RI-SON. 

In the first part of this book, you heard of a bi 
di-an fighter, whose name was Wil-ham Hen-ry Hai 
and yoii saw this brave man mount step by step 
pres-i-dent's chair. It is his grand-son, Ben-ja-min 
son, whom we now see pres-i-dent of the U-ni-ted 
He was born in his grand-fa-ther's home at Nort 
In-di-an-a, on Au-gust 20th, 1833. There were no good 
near his home ; so in a smaU log house, in his 
f a-ther's grounds, he first went to school ; he and 
oth-er boys and girls were taught here by those wt 
Har-ri-sons hired. In this school the seats were of 
laid on sticks that were stuck in holes in the floo 
had no backs ; and were so high that the small b( 
girls could not touch their feet to the floor. On-b 
win-ter did this small boy go to school ; in the sum- 
had work to do on the big farm ; he did his work w< 
he also learned to shoot, to fish, to swim, and to ride 

He was much liked by all the boys, for he wa^ 
sports and jokes. In 1820 he went to Mi-a-mi Col-le 
left in 1822, to stud-y law. In one of his first ca 
light was so dim, that he could not see the notes 
made with such care. What should he do ? There ^ 
one thing he could do : fling to one side the no1 
plead his case without an-y. This was a hard thing 
but he did it so well, that he won his case ; and th 
men of the day gave him much praise for his speech 



LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. 

riien the Civ-il War broke out he raised a troop of mer 
his own state, and was made the col-o-nel of this banc 
L Avas cahed the *" 70th In-di-an-a." 
'.e served for two years, and won fame in some of th 
bat-ties of the war ; so brave was he at Ee-sa-ca, tha 
is made a Brig-a-dier Gen-er-al. Through the Ion 
of war, he was kind and good to the men in his care 
oved him well, and gave him the name of " Littl 

ot tin the war was at an end, did he leave the field 
Aath much fame, he went back home, and took up hi 
at law. He took a high place in his own state an 
some great speech-es. 

; was now the year 1889 ; just one hun-dred years ha 
;1 since Wash-ing-ton, our first pres-i-dent, took hi 
as Pres-i-dent of the U-nit-ed States ; and the who] 
thought it right to cel-e-brate the date. So in Ne^ 
Cit-y, on A-pril 29th and 30th, was held the " Wasl 
n Cen-ten-ni-al." The cit-y was hung from end to enc 
L^ed, white and blue ; the grand, good face of Wasl 
n, framed in the fiag of the land, or wreathed in greei 
i down on the gay scene. Rank by rank, the troop 
)y a-midst the shouts and cheers of the dense crowd 
ailed the streets, and looked from the win-dows c 
i and hous-es. Rich and poor, great and small, kej 
:reat day ; the pres-i-dent and oth-er great men f roi 
-ing-ton were brought to the foot of Wall Street, on 
hung with flags ; here all the ships of war were draw 
. each side ; and as the par-ty went to the spot whei 
L-ing-ton took his oath of of-fice, young girls, clad i 
!, cast flow-ers be-fore them. As the troops filed pa^ 
res-i-dent, one saw, not just those from the North ; br 



BENJAMIN HARRISON. 

up from the South came hosts of men, bearing the 
their states ; all glad to share in this great day of the : 
and there were men from across the seas too ; the G< 
and the French marched side by side with the A-me 
By night, fire- works and bon-fires filled the stree 
light, and blazed in beau-ty ; no such great time 1: 
been known in this land ; and this was as it should 
it was all done for the great, good man, who had 
troops so well in our first war, that he had made " 
and had then, by a wise and just rule, helped us t 
great, strong land that we are to-day. 

While Har-ri-son was in of -fice, work was be-gui 
'' World's Fair," which was held in Chi-ca-go, in 1^ 
'^Sie-hun-dred years since Co-lum-bus first saw A-i 
Har-ri-son Avent to Chi-ca-go and o-pened the fair 
speech on Oc-to-ber 14th, 1892 ; but folks could not | 
till the next year. In 1893, Har-ri-son went home 
an-a, and took up his law work, once more ; he is sti 
is well known as a good law-yer, and has man} 
friends a-mong the great men of our day. 

We have seen that Gro-ver CleA^e-land now 
pres-i-der.t ; at the end of his four years, the Re-pu 
put Wil-liam Mc-Kin-ley in of -fice. 



LIVES OF THE PEESIDENTS. 



WILLIAM MC-KIN-LEY. 

'he man, who now, in the year 1900, stands at the hes 
r great land, was born at Niles, 0-hi-o, on Jan-u-a-i 

1843. In the schools near his home he was taugl 
t-ters and, as a child, was fond of books, and quick 1 
He was a mere boy, when he taught school to ear 
Leans to go to Col-lege. The school-house in which 1 
it still stands ; it is a plain, square, white house, wit 
t^in-dows in front and three on each side. His motl 
as a good wo-man, with a clear, strong brain ; si 
it him, as Avell as his eight broth-ers and sis-ters, 1 
ruth, and to live brave and strong lives, 
'oung Wil-liam was not long to lead a life of peac6 

1861 he, then but a boy of eight-een, left his bool^ 
is home, and Avent to the war. Many sto-ries pro^^ 
)rave he was while there ; but two will show you wh 
ie so fast from the ranks. At one time the guns ha 
Left on the road, af-ter a great fight ; and it would be 
task to go back near the foe to get them. But, youn 
in-ley said, " The boys wih haul them ; " and he and 
th-ers Avent back for them and brought them into on 
Then he was at one time two miles from the figh 
ivge of the food ; he Avas quite safe ; but he thougt 
len would fight bet-ter, if they had some cof-fee an 
So he filled a cart and drove straight to the linei 
3 our brave men were hard at work. Was this not 
! act I To risk his hf e for the sake of tak-ing food an 




WILLIAM McKINLEY. 



WILLIAM McKINLEY. 

drink to the worn men. He worked his way strai 
the front and came ont of the war a cap-tain. H( 
home at once and took np the stud-y of law in Ca 
Dne of his first speech-es was for the rights of the 
men ; he said that they shouki have the same right t 
that white men had ; and he was ev-er on the side 
black man. In 1869 Mc-Kin-ley was mar-ried to Mi.' 
3ax-ton. They were both very young when their t 
tie chil-dren died. The young lawyer did all he cc 
3heer his wife ; and she was as brave as he, and did ] 
tier grief keep him from his work. He rose fast 
^tate, and held high place more than once ; then, ir 
le was sent to Congress. In 1891 he was made gov- 
3f 0-hi-o ; and in 1897, he had made such a great nai 
lim-self that he was put up for pres-i-dent by the Ee- 
3ans, and e-lect-ed. Just as he came in-to of-fice, the 
n Cu-ba was at its height ; and men here in our grea 
and had much pit-y for the Cu-bans, who were try-i 
^et free from Spain, just as we had tried to shake o 
land of Eng-land long years a-go. The Span-ish rule 
vorse and worse, as Spain found that Cu-ba would nc 
11. At last Gen-er-al Wey-ler, a harsh and cru-el mai 
;eiit there to force peace on an-y terms ; but Gen-eiN 
nez knew his foes well, and his brave men fo Light v 
strength born of a great hate for Spain. By and by, 
5pain saw she could not win the day, she sent word t 
3u-ba would lay down her arms, she could have the i 
'or which she had asked in vain in the past. 

But it was too late ; Cu-ba had no faith in Spain 
vould now be free from her hard yoke. There was 
vant in the big towns of Cu-ba at this time, for W 
lad made all the poor folks, who had lived in peace on 



LIVES OF THE PEESIDENTS. 

ill farms, come in-to the towns. He said they gave helj 
Ca-ban troops, and so he forced them to leave their hoi 
would on-ly let them bring with them just the J 
Lgs that they could put on their backs. Then he 1 
r lit-tle homes, and their crops which they had rai 

I care, all burned to the ground. He had lit-tle food 
) this great host of poor peo-ple, and ma-ny died in 
ets for the want of bread. You may be sure that < 
it land saw the pain and want down in Cu-ba, £ 
^ed to give aid ; but an act of help on our part wo 
.n war with Spain, and this Mc-Kin-ley did not wi 

there came a day when a great cry went up throi 
U-nit-ed States at a foul deed done in the bay of ] 
La. Our great war ship, the " Maine," was blown up 
>mb, as she lay at an-chor in the har-bor. The thou^ 
ur poor men sent to such a death raised the cry of ^ 

II hearts. '' Re-mem-ber the Maine," was the war-c 
men cried for war at once with Spain. But Mc-Kin- 

e Spain one more chance to stop the fight and free ' 
this she would not do. So on A-pril 21st, 1898, oi 
•e the U-nit-ed States had to make read-y for ^ 
m all the states men poured in and camps sprang 
3 and there, where the men were taiight to load and : 
r guns. Off at Hong-Kong, in charge of our war-shi 
; brave Ad-mi-ral Dew-ey. He knew that the Span- 
: was in Ma-ni-la Bay, near the Phil-ip-pine Is-lar 
ch were ruled by Spain ; the loss of these ships wo 
I great bloAV to Spain just at this time ; so Dew 
^red his ships there to strike a blow for his coun-try. 
It was night when he reached the spot, and be-fore 
n-iards knew he was near, six of his great ships 1 
ped past their forts. Then a fierce fire poured on t 



WILLIAM McKINLEY. 

Tom the forts ; but it did not do much harm. At la 
Span-ish fleet saw him, and at once the ships o-penec 
but Dew-ey's flag-ship, the " 0-lym-pi-a," sent out g 
storm of shot and shell, that the first of the Span-ish 
was sunk, and all on board killed. 

The fight last-ed two hours ; and at the end c 
time the Span-ish fleet had all been sunk. Great ]( 
felt in the U-nit-ed States when this glad news was 
and Dew-ey was the he-ro of the whole land. 

Our men down in Cu-ba fought well, and ma-ny 
deeds were done. On June 6th Ad-mi-ral Samp-so: 
on the forts at San-ti-a-go; our men put their he£ 
their work and their aim Avith the great guns was tr 
straight. The Span-iards did not aim so we 1, an 
shots did not go so far, and so the shot and she. 
their forts did not do us much harm. 

Soon our men had stopped the fire from aU th 
save Cas-tle Mor-ro, and this fort was rent and torn i 

VloIgs 

OnJune24thour"RoughEi-ders,"withThe-o-dor( 

veltat their head, were sent out to clear the way to. 
ffo The foe poured a hot fire on our men from the ta 
and weeds in which they lay hid-den ; and there wa 
loss of life. FuU of fire and pluck were these Hox 
ders " and led by their brave colo-nels, Eoose-velt anc 
they forced the Span-ish troops back, foot by foot, 
of fight was five miles long ; the heat was fierce ; a 
and wa-ter scarce. But at last the troops came to ' 
of San Juan Hill; then, with a mad rush, up, i 
our men to the Span-ish fort at the head! Che 
shouts rose to the skies as the red, white ai 
waved from the old Span-ish fort ; but the cost of t 



LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. 

been great, for there was much loss of life on be 
;. On Ju-ly 3d Cer-ve-ra, the Span-ish Ad-mi-ral, tried 
[lis fleet out of the bay of San-ti-a-go ; he was sec 
gh, by our men, and af-ter a hot chase and fierce fig' 
the whole Span-ish fleet was burned or sunk. 
Spain lost scores of brave men ; but on our side not o 

was killed, nor did we lose a ship, 
riie end of the war was near ; on Ju-ly 10th we k 
) to San-ti-a-go, and on Ju-ly 17th we went in-to t 

and raised ov-er it the Stars and Stripes. 
In this part of the world the last shot had been fire 
Dew-ey in the far east did not know this, and so 
:^k one more blow for his coun-try. 
He took the cit-y of Ma-ni-la with the loss of b 
ve men, and when our flag waved o-ver this cit-y, t 
of the Span-ish war had come. On Jan-u-a-ry 1st, 18! 
5pan-ish flag, which for four hun-dred years had wav 
' Cu-ba, was hauled down ; the red, white and blue 
3wn land took its place ; and Cu-ba, free from the ha 
of Spain, blessed the great na-tion that had come 
lid. 

In Sep-tem-ber of 1899 Ad-mi-ral Dew-ey came horr 
from end to end of this land his name was cheered. 
He Avas the guest of the cit-y of New York for tin 
; ; and well did the cit-y hon-or the he-ro of Ma-ni- 
When we took Ma-ni-la from Spain, and so closed t 
i-ish war, it did not give us the Phil-ip-pines. The m 
e were glad to have us drive out the Span-iards, butc 
wish us to take their place. Long months of war f 
^d, but now, A-gui-nal-do, their chief, has yield-ed a 
;e seems to be at hand. 
It was not eas-y to see when Mc-Kin-ley be-came pr 



WILLIAM McKINLEY. 

L-dent that we were soon to be in the midst of war ; b 
land has borne her part well. We have gained new la 
the far east, and onr flag waves o-ver strange peo-pl 
have not yet learned that it stands for f ree-dom. The 
fear that the yoke of the U-nit-ed States will be as h 
bear as that of Spain. This is not so, and it will not b 
be-fore all these far-off lands will learn to love and ble 
Red, White and Blue, just as ev-er-y State in our 
Un-ion does to-day. 

THE END. 



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